Working with other people on projects and assignments happens a lot at university and in the workplace. Working in teams can be difficult and there are many factors that can influence whether a group works well together or ends up being hard work. You may have had a good experience working in a group where:

• Conflicts were discussed openly and managed well
• Your experience lead to a deeper understanding of the subject
• You made good group decisions
• Everyone got along well
• The project was completed successfully (e.g. you got a good mark for the group assignment)

Here are some students describing a good experience they have had working in a group at uni.

Unfortunately group work can end up being a major stress for students. Some issues that cause unease include:

• Personality clashes
• Different expectations about the quality of work and expected marks
• Lack of communication
• Allocation of tasks
• Unequal time commitments to the group work

It’s quite common for students to experience difficulties when working in groups. Listen to these students talk about their experiences of conflict in group work situations.