How to Deal with Envy at Workplace ?

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How to Deal with Envy at Workplace ?

Envy at work is a thing which is surely not easy to be dealt with, but must certainly be managed effectively to avoid ruining one's own personal performance as well as organizational performance. Obviously, you must congratulate Michael on being promoted even if you think you deserved the promotion and you strove hard for it. No one likes to acknowledge that they possess this communally offensive feeling of envy.

Our anxiety leads to hide and suppress our emotions, which in turn ruin the things. Envy is of course different from jealousy, because envy occurs when one lacks required trait possessed by other, while jealousy occurs when there is a threat by others to trait already possessed by a person.

It has been discovered that envy at workplace can be dealt with very effectively. It requires identifying possibly harmful feelings and actions; transferring them into more liberal and constructive ones; and turn yourself more amicable and sensitive to others at workplace.

Why do we distance from co-workers we envy-Probably because we encounter this feeling more strongly with those who we are attached to/close to. It has been researched that a third person's success does not bother a person more than the success of a co-worker. Third persons are a notion and their accomplishments are mere numbers. While the success of your co-workers are clear and seem achievable to you.

It has been found that people are reluctant to learn from opinions that initiate from opponents in their own company, while they show an eagerness to learn from opinions that initiate from other organizations. Perhaps the reason behind this is that imitating ideas from other companies makes a person being perceived as innovative, while learning from opinions of others within the organization will give acknowledgement to the person who is the source of ideas as a rational thinker.

Below are mentioned some ways of dealing with envy at workplace.


First and foremost, evaluate the situation and pen down all the possible reasons that provoke envy in you.For instance, are you envy of people who get frequent promotions, or who get pats on their back from the boss. Do you envy people who get high bonuses/increments or who excel in learning new competencies. Once these reasons are discovered, you can subdue these envious feelings before they transform into negative repercussions.

Concentrate on you and only you.Do not concentrate on others.Comparisons if in excess leads to feeling of envy and nothing else.You can compare yourself with others only to the extent of improving yourself or for motivation.

Encourage yourself.Identify your emotional sparks and your self achievements. This in turn will safeguard envy.Always remember your positives and strong points whenever you feel endangered by your rivals outstanding performance.

Accept that you are envious if you want to defeat the feeling of envy. Disclose it to the person whom you envy. Get in touch with them and congratulate them on their success. Tell them that you are spellbound by their accomplishments, after all they were successful and you lacked something to achieve that success. Then if you are brave enough, you can also convey them that you feel a bit envy of their achievement. This way you will feel a bit happy for the person you greeted for accomplishment and you have recognized your feeling of envy.

Source: MANAGEMENT STUDY GUIDE