In our lives, we form various relationships. In particular, university provides abundant opportunities to encounter and interact with diverse individuals. However, it has been observed that an increasing number of individuals are facing challenges in their interpersonal relationships.
- Challenges in Interpersonal Relationships
According to a survey of 2,288 workers who resigned by JOBKOREA & albamon in 2020, 52% of the resigning workers did not disclose the accurate reason for their resignation. The leading secret reason for the resignation was “conflict with superiors and colleagues (65.7%)”. Interpersonal relationships have a significant impact on social life. Nevertheless, according to 2023 data from the Statistics Korea, the dissatisfaction with personal relationships among individuals aged 13 to 29 who graduated from university increased by 10.8% in the category of "very dissatisfied", compared to the previous period. Despite the emphasized importance of interpersonal relationships in society, satisfaction with them is on the decline. What issues and conflicts related to interpersonal relationships might occur during university life?
- Stories from JBNU Students: Meeting People in University
Oh Hee-soo in the Department of Food Science & Technology and Cho Yong-beom in the Department of Business Administration shared their experiences related to interpersonal relationships during their university life.
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Q. What conflicts or difficulties did you experience in interpersonal relationships during your university life? A. Oh: I had difficulties during team projects where compromise in handling opinions was lacking. During my time serving as a class representative since my freshman year, I also faced conflicts with classmates during event planning. Cho: I faced difficulties in interpersonal relationships after entering university. Although I met a more diverse range of people compared to before, my relationships became broader and shallower, rather than deeper. Because of this, I felt a sense of doubt and anxiety about my interpersonal skills and relationships. Q. How did you cope with or overcome the conflicts or difficulties in interpersonal relationships? A. Oh: I continuously recognized individual differences and made efforts to understand others. I also strived to be a leader promoting fair treatment by encouraging everyone to compromise a little bit, rather than having one person make all the sacrifices. Cho: I focused on nurturing relationships with close friends and I expanded my network by meeting new people around them. |
In university, you get to know diverse individuals through group projects, club activities, and more. The process of meeting new people, sharing experiences, and exchanging information contributes to personal growth. Although challenges and conflicts may arise during this process, both Oh and Cho emphasize the importance of developing interpersonal relationships during your time at university.
- Knowing Yourself and Understanding Others
Jeong Yu-soo, a research professor at JBNU PSYBK21, said “Interpersonal relationships are directly connected with quality of life.” JBNU PSYBK21 is a group that trains psychology service specialists who are essential in a super-aged society to handle radical social changes. It is safe to say that people have difficulties in interpersonal relationships in every stage of life. Jeong characterized these difficulties as “stressors”. Stressors trigger people to experience negative emotions when individuals are exposed to stressful stimuli. Experiencing such negative emotions makes it difficult for individuals to exhibit their usual competence. In addition, it lessens people’s capabilities what they can handle, and their perspective becomes more limited. In essence, negative emotions can trigger a cascade of further negative emotions, underscoring the importance of fostering positive emotions in interpersonal relationships.
When considering the challenges of interpersonal relationships in university, team projects stand out as a prime example of causing conflict. Jeong mentioned that “Perceiving the purpose of the team project is crucial for overcoming interpersonal difficulties.” He explained conflict resolution for this situation using MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) characteristics, which is a self-reported personality assessment. MBTI has four indexes: E-I (Extraversion-Introversion), S-N (Sensing-Intuition), T-F (Thinking-Feeling), and J-P (Judging-Perceiving). Jeong stated, “Individuals with TJ and FP personalities are more likely to experience conflicts of opinion. Those with TJ personalities tend to be direct, and this could be felt as a judgment to those with FP personalities. People with FP personalities also tend to follow others’ opinions. Those with these traits can come into conflict when interacting with each other.”
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- Jeong’s Recommendations These tips are important for students to know before embarking on a team project. 1. Share the results of the personality test with each other. For freshmen, it is recommended to promptly undergo a personality test. Self-understanding is a crucial step towards improvement, and this extends to understanding others. Sharing and acknowledging each other’s personality types before initiating the project allows for thoughtful consideration and effective collaboration based on individual traits. 2. Completely understand the purpose of the team project. It is necessary to understand the purpose of the project and come to an agreement about socializing at the proper level at the very beginning. 3. Try to have a humble attitude of acknowledging your weaknesses and refrain from boasting about your strengths. 4. Ask a professor or expert for help if you are having difficulty with communication. |
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- Recommended Personality Tests 1. Happiness & Dream Center at JBNU gives personality tests and interpretation counseling for free. 2. LCSI (Lim’s Character Style Inventory) LCSI is a personality test that simultaneously performs a psychological evaluation and suggests innate temperament results. “Emotional expression is very important in our relationships,” Jeong stressed. He recommended the practice of talking out loud to yourself and writing down what you are experiencing. For example, when gazing at the sky, you can say to yourself, “I feel at ease seeing such a vast sky and beautiful clouds.” Jeong added, “To be able to express your feelings, you must sense your emotions and look into them to know what you are truly feeling, and that leads to expression.” |
Jeong said, “In the words of Yoon Dae-hyun, ‘We need the courage to be hated.’” Yoon Dae-Hyun is part of the medical staff in the Neuropsychiatry at Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System, Gangnam Center. Jeong added, “To paraphrase a statistic, two out of ten may dislike me, seven are indifferent, and only one may like me.” Therefore, to form healthy interpersonal relationships, you need to practice acknowledging what you cannot control.
ㅣ Jo Soo-jin Editor-in-Chief, Park Mi-so Reporter