Conflicts end in compromise when the parties involved change their goals and actions to make them compatible. This typically results from people using a collaborative approach and is most effective in situations in which people have relatively equal power and the clashing goals aren’t especially important.

In cases in which everyone considers their goals important, however, compromise tends to foster resentment and regret (Peterson, 2002). Why? Imagine that you’re leading a meeting in which a team of nurses will plan next month’s work schedule. If everyone comes to the meeting not really caring about whether they work days or nights and weekdays or weekends, you all can collaborate and easily compromise on who works when. But if people have strong preferences about their schedule (“I absolutely cannot work Friday nights”), then compromising on these plans will most likely lead to bitterness, as team members compare who got their way and who sacrificed the most.