This Kind of Green Has No Place at Work

It's been a while since I've heard anyone refer to themselves as being "green with envy," but that doesn't mean the ugly monster no longer exists. Job envy or career envy is a common occurrence in the work place. This is especially true in competitive work environments where people are judged and treated a certain way based on titles or relative position within the company. Tonya Menon and Leigh Thompson in their Harvard Business Review article “Envy at Work,” describe job envy as “the distress people feel when others get what they want.”

Menon and Thompson argue that while envy at work is common, its ill effects wreak havoc on individual and organizational performance. “Envy damages relationships, disrupts teams, and undermines organizational performance [but] most of all…harms the one who feels it.”

Job envy might be normal, but employees would be wise not to dwell on the success of others. As individual employees we bring specific strengths and talents to the work place; all of which are realized in unique ways, on unique timelines and with unique trajectories.

To be envious of someone else’s success (in work or life) is tantamount to putting your own progress on hold while running the 100 meter dash - backwards! To snap out of this fruitless, destructive mind-set, take the following steps:

1. Slap envy in the face by boosting your self-esteem. Remind yourself that your strengths and talents are uniquely yours and that the success of others has nothing to do with your future.

2. Don’t hate – CONGRATULATE! Find genuine happiness for your successful colleagues by taking the time to congratulate them. Success brings its own kind of stress and your colleague will find comfort in knowing you are available to lend support. Plus (and this is key), the tables will inevitably be turned by your own success one day.

3. Find nuggets of wisdom in the success of others. Sometimes it's not what talent you have, but how you demonstrate your talent within the current environment. Take the opportunity directly through discussions or indirectly through observation (my personal “MO”) to learn from the actions and behaviors of successful co-workers. How do they “show up” at work? How do they navigate the office politics? How do they respectfully disagree with the status quo? Just remember to absorb the good stuff, discard the bad stuff and be committed to your own style.

Envy has not been called “the green-eyed monster” for nothin’. It is relentless. It zaps self-esteem, slows productivity and destroys all forms of progress. The best defense against envy is faith in your own destiny. Find comfort in knowing that the most rewarding successes are those that are earned in their own way and on their own time. For more information on dealing with job envy, read Menon’s and Thompson’s article: “Envy at Work;” Harvard Business Review; April 2010. This article includes a self-assessment and tips for managing envy in a team environment.