Question: What is your approach to handling disagreement between you and a coworker?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

What Would You Do If You and a Co-Worker Disagreed?

Follow-up questions:

Question Details:

Question Type:

Knowledge/Skill Based

Skills:

Basic – Active Listening,Social – Negotiation,Social – Social Perceptiveness

Abilities:

Cognitive – Perceptual Speed

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Agreeableness,Candidate Preparedness,Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit,Personality-Team Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships,Interacting with Others – Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others (Conflict Management),Mental Processes – Developing Objectives and Strategies,Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People,Interpersonal Relationships – Face-to-Face Discussions,Interpersonal Relationships – Frequency of Conflict Situations,Interpersonal Relationships – Work With Work Group or Team (As a member, not a leader)

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Analytical Thinking,Approachability,Assertiveness/Courage,Cooperation,Handling Ambiguity,Self Control,Social Orientation (Work Alone vs Group Work),Stress Tolerance

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for the candidate’s ability to fit into the culture of the company and how well they will mesh with the fellow employees.
If the candidate speaks about the steps they have taken to address the disagreement.
Key skills you are looking for here in the candidate are listening skills, patience, open minded, willingness to learn.
If the candidate emphasizes on the communication style they used to work through this conflict.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the candidate mentions avoiding conflicts completely.
If the candidate uses confrontational tone.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.wikijob.co.uk/content/interview-advice/interview-questions