If an employee has a conflict of interest, this means the employee could do what? D. Personally benefit by taking unfair advantage of his or her position in the company. A conflict of interest happens when a person benefits from actions or decisions made by them. If a person makes a decision knowing that their positon to make the decision will go in their favor, they are taking advantage of that. Conflicts of interest is common in a workplace environment or just everyday life because of that persons ability to make decisions that would benefit them.