Rivalry in the workplace can be good or bad. Good rivalries encourage healthful antagonism. However, bad ones cause resistance, rumors, backstabbing and poignant repercussions in protection for hurt self-images. Rivalries encircle us, as competition is widespread throughout the animal kingdom.
Rivalry In The Workplace
The cause of workplace rivalries is never easy to pigeonhole. Nonetheless, few corporate backgrounds hire people, who provide more explosive ingredients than others. When people are salaried to gain various priorities, an amount of friction comes within the field. When things go haywire and cause aggravation, misery or bitterness, employees lash out.
Rivalry in the workplace can be more widespread during episodes of financial uncertainty or spectacular change, such as during a business reorganization. This is when employees are most pertinent to feel their jobs are in danger and thus may have more pressure to show their worth. Regrettably, this can cause few employees to become absolute competitive, leading to some diplomacy in the workplace.
Since businesses work hard to hire the best forte accessible, rivalry in the workplace is bound to happen when individuals work together. Mary Ellen Slayter, career advice expert for Monster believes that workplace rivalries do not have to spoil a workplace. She further mentions that balance is key. Rivalry in the workplace must motivate an employee to perform his or her best. Nevertheless, there is no point in getting distracted by jealousy.
How to Deal with Workplace Rivalry?
The best approach for dealing with workplace rivalries is to rise above it. Here are a few tips for doing so:
- Work hard and be attentive on doing quality work
- Display devotion to the company, your supervisor and co-workers
- Be courteous towards your teammates
- Open yourself up to learning from others and accepting new ideas
- Promote teamwork and propose ways for teamwork
- Recognize and work toward common goals
Rivalries can also shape within teams when supervisors promote a ‘divide and conquer’ attitude. Rather than having goals that may only be known to a sole department, it will prove more effective to set ordinary goals that can only be achieved by collaborating. This type of big-picture goal setting encourages employees to solve problems together. Furthermore, it will transcend teams and put employees in the position to foster healthy rivalries based on best ideas and hard-work.
Of course, some internal rivalries can be productive. Rivalry in the workplace can be innately relational and that co-worker’s personal relationships can bother their behavior, motivation and ultimately performance. Nonetheless, this can be a good thing if supervisors tweak it well. And for some a little unenthusiastic pointer from a close rival can go a long way.
It is more efficient for leaders to promote positive rivalries by creating work environments with a culture of credit. This will allow workers to lift each other up without casing for themselves or pushing others under the bus. With such a framework, everyone gets a chance to win because colleagues, even when rivals, can develop social capital for themselves while making the cake bigger for all.