Envy at work: what to do so that it is not a problem

Envy is bad, and at work it can be much worse. It is a feeling that can degenerate in terribly harmful situations, such as mobbing, work stress, incompetence in the workplace, as well as tensions that can manifest themselves in the form of physical aggressions and verbal.

We are going to see in more depth what are the causes of this emotion in organizations, in addition to seeing some ways of manage it, whether we are the ones who are envious or envied, and what role can the company play before it.

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Envy at work, why can it arise?

Envy at work is a feeling that can be caused by multiple factors. Work environments can be the place of interpersonal relationships that, depending on whether there are or there is no bad weather, they can degenerate in such a way that it affects the performance of the entire squad.

One of the causes that can generate this harmful feeling is competitive pressure. There are not a few people who in the workplace do not feel well treated, in addition to feeling that if they fail in something it can lead to serious consequences. If the person does not know what his value is in the company and does not feel safe, having to compete against others to keeping your job, in addition to an almost traumatic experience, can generate many tensions in the office.

As soon as they see that someone is better at something than themselves, it is possible that a whole series of very damaging dynamics within the organization will begin. It is very frequent that, due to envy, situations of mobbing or (non-sexual) harassment occur at work, which will make the victim feel worse and more isolated from the rest of the workers.

The detrimental effects of envy are not something that appear overnight. They start with a feeling of resentment towards the envied person, looking for possible weaknesses and failures with the intention of making the other workers and the boss see that this person is not as efficient as they apparently believed. This can harm the envied person or, conversely, the envious one, since they will be showing himself as a weak person and emotional immaturity, who is not able to tolerate the success of others the rest.

In essence, envy at work arises from feeling anger for not possessing the potential of other co-workers, fear that one will be less valued when compared to others or fear of losing one's job because they perceive that one is not up to the task height.

What can be done to avoid feeling envy?

We are human beings and, therefore, at one time or another we will feel envy of someone. However, as mature and resourceful people, we can cope with this emotion or even prevent ourselves from feeling it.

1. Don't obsess over how others do it

In this world there will always be people better and worse than us, but people who have more qualities than us are more likely to be the center of attention.

We must not obsess over how others do it, nor nor try to overcome them yes or yes simply because we refuse to be worse than them. Each one has a potential that must be improved in the healthiest and most adult way possible.

2. Nobody is perfect

It is possible that when you see another person do something better than yourself, you feel envious of them; however, no one is perfect on this planet. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

You have to be objective, and understand that in the same way that we are feeling envy for something that that person does well, it is also very likely that they have something that they do worse than us. One way or another, the combined strengths and weaknesses of both would neutralize each other.

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3. Turn envy into admiration

Envy is, in essence, malicious admiration. The best thing that can be done is to know how to see the good in others and congratulate them for it, let them see that we find several of their qualities admirable.

Admiration encourages good relationships with people who have certain gifts, while envy drives us away, frustrates us, and puts us in a bad mood.

4. feel empathy

When envying a partner who is attributed a position above us, it is very common to think that her life is a bed of roses and that he hasn't really made an effort to be there.

Let's try to empathize and think about how a person who is in your position feels. Would we like to have to make all the calls you make every day? Would it be nice for us to spend as little time with the family as he does? When was the last time you didn't do overtime?

If we ask ourselves all these questions and get something negative as an answer, maybe we will change the envy for understanding.

5. Less envy and more self-improvement

Envy is a feeling that does not benefit us. We see that others do things better than us and we feel bad about it and we pay it with them.

However, taking this into account, Wouldn't it be better for us to do self-criticism and see how we can be inspired by the virtues of others?

Instead of feeling so much envy for how well others are doing, we must look for ways to improve how we are ourselves. Once we reach the level of others, there will be no reason to be envious of them.

It may seem complicated, and it really is, but if you do, you can get great results in the short term.

What to do if they are envious of us?

Other times it can happen that we are the ones who generate envy in the rest of our colleagues and, although it may seem that this is beneficial to us, it can really make us take risks. The main one is the possibility that they accuse us of being where we are out of favoritism or that they attack us both physically and psychologically. A few things can be done to try to diminish this feeling in our companions.

1. Circumstances change, but the deal doesn't

We may have been promoted. That is undoubtedly a good thing, however care must be taken, as we run the risk of starting to treat our equals until recently as our inferiors.

Even if circumstances change we must make others see that we are still the same people, that we continue to appreciate ourselves and that the change in the internal hierarchy of the company is not a reason to change interpersonal relationships.

Being humble and simple, showing that our value as people transcends any job status are good ways to avoid unnecessary envy.

2. Help others

We can offer our help to the envious person by giving them advice and even invite them to join us while we do a task. to learn how to do it.

3. run away from the limelight

Whether in meetings or in any work context, trying to be the center of attention when it is not necessary is a problem, since others may see us as too self-centered, even if there is some reason to it.

It may be that one day the boss or a colleague wants to pay tribute to us for something we have done, but we must try avoid being given too much importance in a systematic way, since otherwise the other workers may be underestimated.

4. Do not attack others

Conversations in which others are attacked can arise in any social context. It is very important to avoid this type of talk, since, in addition to causing harm, can start a whole series of gossip, gossip and rumors that they can turn against us.

Destructive conversations can create a lot of stress in the company, and we don't want them to victims of them return it to us in the form of rancor, personal attacks and promotion of a bad image our.

What can the company do to avoid this type of situation?

The company is as responsible for the interactions between its workers as the staff themselves. That is why, in the event that you see bad interpersonal relationships among your employees, you should consider starting some changes to lessen tensions, especially if you don't want the performance of the organization decrease.

1. Skip the competitions

It is quite common in companies to make their employees compete for the same job or perform some type of task.

This, which at first may seem positive because it encourages putting all the effort to get a objective and is perceived by the employer as a possible increase in productivity, implies certain risks.

It's one thing to motivate staff to do their best, it's another to make them see each other as enemies., and it may be the case that they sabotage each other.

If you are the head or manager of a certain section or department and people have been detected who seem to be prone to envy and jealousy, it is best to avoid all kinds of internal competition intense.

2. run away from comparisons

To avoid unnecessary envy, it is best to avoid comparisons within the organization, whether they are made by the boss or his subordinates.

An envious employee will not find it funny to know what their colleagues leave and do not stop doing, especially how well they do it. This can start all kinds of tension in the form of small harmful actions. from him to the rest of the employees.

3. Transparent reward system

This advice is especially recommended for the person who is in charge of the salaries and promotions of her employees.

In every company, people run the risk of comparing themselves based on the amount of money earned each month. This can cause confrontations and, of course, a lot of envy and jealousy.

The best way to avoid this is to create a transparent reward system., which consists of explaining to workers the reasons for promotions, salary increases, rewards and other ways of rewarding their good work performance.

In doing so, you must also ensure that everything is explained and that it is not implied that the person who has been benefited in one way or another from favoritism of some kind, and avoid the perception that it is a situation unfair.

Bibliographic references:

• Westhues K. (2006) The Envy of Excellence: Administrative Mobbing of High-Achieving Professors Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
• Westhues K. (s. f.) At the Mercy of the Mob. OHS Canada, Canada's Occupational Health & Safety Magazine, 18(8), pp. 30 – 36.