Question

What do you mean by role conflict? Give its example.

Answer 1

Role conflict happens when there are contradictions between different roles that a person takes on or plays in their everyday life. In some cases, the conflict is a result of opposing obligations which results in a conflict of interest, in others, when a person has roles that have different statuses, and it also occurs when people disagree about what the responsibilities for a particular role should be, whether in the personal or professional realms.
Because we all play multiple roles in our lives, all of us have or will experience one or more types of role conflict at least once. In some cases, we may take on different roles that are not compatible and conflict ensues because of this. When we have opposing obligations in different roles, it may be difficult to satisfy either responsibility in an effective way.
A role conflict can occur, for example, when a parent coaches a baseball team that includes that parent's son. The role of the parent can conflict with the role of the coach who needs to be objective when determining the positions and batting lineup, for example, along with the need to interact with all the children equally.  Another role conflict can arise if the parent's career impacts the time he can commit to coaching as well as parenting.