Jealousy Makes for Bad Business

by Geoff Gillette

It is only natural in a business environment to feel competitive with co-workers, to want to advance faster than others and to climb that ladder before everybody else. But the nature of the game is that no one wins all the time. So what do you do when someone in the office (rightly or wrongly) climbs the ladder a little faster than you?

The answer is not, “envy them, hate them and plot their ultimate downfall.”

Jealousy in a business context can create one of the worst environments imaginable in a work setting. It spreads a toxicity throughout the organization that leads to volatile relations and extreme challenges for HR departments.

Managers are trained to defuse those sorts of scenarios by avoiding either the appearance or the actuality of favoritism. But the reality is that it occurs every day. Some managers may not be aware of the environment they are creating, and some may simply not care. HR managers struggle with creating a viable working situation, but ultimately some of the burden has to rest on the employee as well.

Another area that HR teams work on, is counseling employees who perceive an unfavorable working situation where none exists. Just being passed over for a promotion does not mean that there is favoritism involved, though it can be difficult to see that when you are the one left behind when the decision is made.  

How you, as an employee, react to a competitive situation can make a world of difference both in your own work-a-day experience as well as the overall culture of your workplace. An article by Natalie Grace in the Houston Chronicle does a nice job of outlining the types of workplace jealousy one could encounter as well as giving some solid tips on how to deal with it.

For employees who are passed over and feel it was unjust a few things to try:

• Communicate – after the selection process is done, talk to your supervisor and ask them what you could have done differently, or how you need to improve in order to achieve a positive result the next time a promotion becomes available
• Examine – look at your body of work, your work ethic and the way you conduct business. Are there ways you can improve? 
• Strive – if there are things you can be doing to improve your chances, do them! Take on assignments, show leadership and work to demonstrate your qualifications. 
  

Conversely, a few things not to do:

• Complain – grousing about the person who won out only demonstrates your negative attitude and shows a sour grapes mentality. No supervisor wants to see that, and (if you’re kvetching in the workplace) it always gets back. If you really need to vent, do it at home with a friend, spouse or pet, just not with co-workers.
  
• Nitpick – once the colleague starts their new role, don’t snipe from the sidelines, picking apart every thing they do and finding fault. It reflects much more on you than them. 
  
• Give up – losing is no fun, without question. But it is no reason to give up. The old axiom about "If at first you don’t succeed" holds true here. That said, if you are in a work environment where you feel you have zero chance of success, conversations with HR or supervisors are unproductive, then maybe it’s time to start looking for greener pastures. No manager is perfect and some relationships just aren’t tenable. 
  

Jealousy in the workplace is extremely unproductive and makes for uncomfortable situations. Try to communicate in situations where you start to feel the bite of the green-eyed monster and see what you can do to defuse a potentially toxic situation.

Tell us in the comments, have you run into situations of jealousy in the workplace? How’d they turn out?