Job authority and interpersonal conflict in the workplace

Using data from a 2005 sample of 1,785 working adults in the United States, the authors examine the association between job authority and the exposure to interpersonal conflict in the workplace and potential gender and age contingencies in that association. A positive association was observed between authority and conflict, but that association was more positive among men and younger workers. Moreover, the authors rule out occupation, job sector, role-set multiplicity, and work conditions as alternative explanations for these associations. These observations have implications for theoretical views about social status variations in job authority and its link to interpersonal stress in the workplace.