Group harmony.
The answer is Yes. The can. I've worked with many teams that have not experienced conflict.
Those teams are not very effective. They don't make changes. They don't innovate. They don't improve or challenge themselves. They get along because they prioritize group harmony over all other functions of the team.
A better question might be: SHOULD teams work together without conflict?
The benefits of healthy, productive conflict are well documented. When you dare to disagree, you generate new ideas and understanding. You avoid group think. You expand your own and others' perspectives.
When you engage in respectful dialogue that gets a variety of viewpoints on the table, you will more confidence in group decisions. You'll have more buy in to these decisions because members of the team will feel heard and considered.
Teams that use conflict in a way that dignifies each individual opinion and elevates group thinking are more innovative, more satisfied and more productive.
At home, we trust people enough to be vulnerable. We are more honest in expressing our feelings and critiquing others. We assert our needs and set boundaries.
At work, when trust among team members is not developed, we tend to hold back. We don't engage in conflict because we're not sure how others will react or what the consequences will be. It's not safe.
At work, we think it's inappropriate to express our feelings. When we don't know people well enough to trust them, expressing our emotions makes us feel too vulnerable. Instead, we mask them or suppress them.
At work, we are reluctant to give our peers feedback even when we could help them. Since trust and connections are not established, we don't feel we have permission to share any feedback that might be construed in a negative way.
When we hold back, we're not offering everything we could contribute to the team. We're offering only our superficial, polite shell.
As long as we keep it superficial, trust won't develop. Connections won't grow. We won't feel safe enough to offer more.
The teams that keep their connections superficial and don't invest in building trust and depth are the teams that end up being the most fractured.
Strong teams have done the work to intentionally build trust. They take time to get acquainted in meaningful ways. They mine for conflict and push each other to become stronger individuals.
Getting along with other people and having healthy conflict are not mutually exclusive. If they were, you'd never argue with and critique and push the people at home.
At home, we care enough about our relationships and the people in our lives to be vulnerable. We build trust by extending it to them every time we express our feelings. We take emotional risks because we are investing in the relationship and the long term.
Your workplace team would benefit if you could do the same for them.
Of course, this is not meant to be construed as permission to act inappropriately. There are workplace norms to consider. Aim for somewhere between never having productive conflict and treating work relationships like personal relationships.