Conflict and Common Problems
Let your mentor know if you feel that the hours or the work is going over your allocated internship hours and it is becoming a work-life issue where you don’t have enough time for your studies, work or a social life. If you are working enough hours for your internship then your mentor should be understanding that this is an internship and not a full time position. I had an instance where my mentor wanted me to send emails after 5pm once I had got home, I politely told them that I was happy to do that during my working day however my time outside of the internship is allocated for studying, working my regular job or relaxing. Also speak up if you’re feeling unfulfilled with the hours, there's no issue with asking for more responsibility or hours, since after all you are there to learn and get some real life work experience.
2. Find a good balance between personal and professional relationships:
I have been extremely lucky to have instantly got along well with everyone at my internship, I can truly say that some of these people will be friends for life, however I came to learn that it’s really important to find the balance of being friends with people but thinking clearly if one of those relationships is going to become romantic. A month into my internship a coworker had asked me on a date, I politely told them that I thought they were a lovely person however I did not want to date anyone at my internship as I was focused on work and wanted to stay professional. There was a small resolvable conflict after this as the person started to avoid me at work which became awkward. I would definitely recommend making sure that you don’t cross any lines and keep things professional at your internship, especially if it is very early on and you don’t know the person that well, the work and staying professional is the most important part of this experience but I would definitely say that if you’re passionate about dating someone at your internship, wait until the internship is over.
3. Do not partake in gossiping:
Again, due to me becoming so close with everyone at my internship people started feeling comfortable talking to me about work issues they were having with others or work relationships that were going on. Part of me was flattered that they felt comfortable talking to me about matters but the other part had to keep reminding myself to stay professional and not gossip with them. To do this I made sure to just listen to them if they needed to vent but I didn't give my opinion on anything and tried to keep the conversations short. Sometimes people would just have a bad day and want to talk about it, however the last thing you want during your internship is people thinking you’re unprofessional or people making judgements about you from gossiping.
I experienced conflict both directly and indirectly but neither were major issues that were unresolvable. I dealt with direct conflict due to the example I mentioned previously where my coworker wanted our professional relationship to turn into a romantic relationship. I told this person that I did not want to date anyone from my internship as I did not want it to get in the way of my work or my potential for staying on with the company once my internship was over. They told me that they were disappointed and started to avoid me at work and make things awkward whenever I was at work functions. I spoke up to them and told them that the way they were treating me was not fair as I was very clear about my priorities from the start. They apologised and we were able to move on in a professional manner, I also spoke to my mentor about this as I did not want it to jeopardize my position, in which they responded that I was completely fine and this is a common issue with that particular employee so I had nothing to worry about. An indirect conflict I experienced links in with my tip about not partaking in gossiping. There were issues between a few of the employees and as I got along with everyone and they spoke to me about these issues I made sure to stay very neutral and ensure I wasn't taking sides. I made it very clear to each party that I was friends with them all and didn't want to be in the middle of any drama, I spoke up to each of them about this and they respected my place there and stopped talking to me about the particular issues they were having with one another. I think with both of these issues that I’ve had I could have done a better job initially at letting them all know that I did not want to be involved. My coworker took me being friendly as romantic and I could have avoided the conflict sooner by making my intentions even clearer. For my indirect conflict I could have told my coworkers the first time that they gossiped to me that I did not want any part in it.
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