AN EXPLORATION OF INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT CAUSATION FACTORS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Conflict has become synonymous with the construction sector. Researchers and practitioners alike have made numerous efforts to address this blight. Despite the abundance of literature present, interpersonal conflict remains ever-present. This study aims to identify the commonality of occurrence of interpersonal conflict causation factors in the built environment (BE). A comprehensive literature review takes place identifying 184 conflict causation factors. 15 semi-structured interviews take place with industry professionals during a content validation phase identifying 47 factors to be classified as 'Human' conflict causation factors. 62 participants complete a questionnaire to identify the commonality of each Human factor using a 1-5 Likert scale ranging from 'Never' to 'Always'. The top three most common factors are Difference in personality, Difference in views, and Pressure/Expectation/Workload. High standard deviation values present across results are indicative of the complexities at play when addressing conflict causation. These findings highlight the importance of increased soft skills training in the sector.