Role of Functional Conflict on Employee Engagement through Effective Negotiation in Banking Sector of Hyderabad Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Aims: Conflict is an inevitable part of human life; however, the functional conflict is considered positive in professional life as it encourages competition and enhances employee performance due to employee engagement. Conflict in the workplace can take place in any forms but the major conflict studied in this paper is task conflict and relationship conflict. This research aims to evaluate the role of task conflict and relationship conflict towards negotiation as an intervening variable, leading towards employee engagement in the banking sector of Hyderabad. Study Design/ Methodology: This paper is based on quantitative research in which a deductive tactic is adopted. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data by using a single (mono-method) technique. 152 respondents participated in the survey from the banking sector of Hyderabad out of which 140 valid cases were taken for this research. To test and analyze the data; statistical tests and descriptive analyses were done using SPSS software. Results: The outcome of the research revealed that task conflict is not the strong predictor of intervening variable i.e. negotiation whereas, relationship conflict is a strong predictor of negotiation and can influence employee engagement. Conclusion: To test the relationship between independent variables (IV) i:e (task conflict and relationship conflict) and dependent variable (DV) (employee engagement) through intervening variable i:e negotiation. Although this research considered two independent variables one of the variables in this study is found to have negative relation i:e Task Conflict (TC) whereas, relationship conflict is considered positive and is a strong predictor of intervening variable i:e negotiation which has an effect on employee engagement. Finding from this research helps identify the relationship between variables and contributes well to the research objectives.