How to Overcome Jealousy at Work

Envy is a complicated feeling, with various aspects like longing, feeling inferior, harbouring ill will towards the person envied, resentment, and guilt. When someone feels envious, it's often because they are not entirely satisfied with themselves. Simply put, envy arises when someone believes that having what another person possesses would make them happier. Envy might also include wishing the other person didn't have what they have.

Envy and jealousy are different concepts in psychology, although people often use the terms interchangeably. Like envy, jealousy is a complex emotion, but it usually occurs within relationships. Jealousy arises when someone is afraid of losing an important relationship to someone else; it's the fear of losing what they already have and want to keep. Envy, on the other hand, usually happens when someone desires another person's achievements, status, or possessions.

Envy often starts in childhood. Remember wishing you had as many colouring books as your cousin? That’s envy. It follows us into school too. Ever wanted grades as high as your best friend’s? That’s envy too.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Even in the workplace, envy creeps in. How do you react when your manager praises another team member? Maybe you feel happy. But what if a peer gets more responsibility on a project you're working on? You might feel relieved. But when someone outperforms you and gets a raise? Proudness is unlikely.

It’s natural to envy a colleague's success since we all want to succeed. But when we start resenting them, it harms collaboration and communication. We focus on outdoing rather than working together, creating unnecessary stress.

That's why it's important to overcome envy at work. Thankfully, it's simple.

Congratulate the colleague you envy. Acknowledge your envy openly. Instead of hiding it, admit it directly to the person who's the source of your envy. It's not easy, but it's crucial. Approach them, express admiration for their work, and if you're brave enough, admit you feel a little jealous of their recent success. Keep it friendly. Avoid bursting into tears or getting angry; it won't foster positive feelings.

Friendly honesty has long-term benefits. Team members appreciate honesty and reward it. Research shows people remember and reward honesty more than they punish deception. So, turn jealousy into an honest conversation. Admit how you feel in a friendly, congratulatory way. It'll lead to better collaboration, improved work quality, and ultimately, positive outcomes.

Leaders have many responsibilities, but their main job is to inspire their teams to work together and achieve good results. This means they should act quickly if they notice any jealousy among their team members. One effective way to deal with jealousy is to turn successful team members into mentors. While mentorship roles are usually for friendly and experienced members, they can also work for those who achieve good results.

Having highly productive team members is great for your business. They finish their tasks well and help the business grow. But sometimes, their success can make others jealous. Making them mentors can help with this. This doesn't mean giving them a promotion or announcing it formally. Just ask them to help their colleagues, whether they're new or experienced.

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