- Post the first comment
- Back to the blog
Robert P. Vecchio, a University of Notre Dame management professor, has found his niche: workplace envy.
He wrote a book, Jealousy and Envy Among Health Care Professionals, and has authored several papers on the subject, including "Explorations in Employee Envy: Feeling Envious and Feeling Envied.” He's also given presentations, one of which was titled “Cinderella and Salieri in the Workplace: Explorations in Employee Envy.”
Here's how he describes envy:
Envy is the fear of losing social standing. ... It can affect people in subtle and unseen ways. People don't want to admit to it. ... If you're admitting that you're jealous, you're admitting that you have a sense of inferiority.
In the workplace, some employees will fear losing their job or status within the company if they don't keep up with their colleagues, or if others seem to garner favour. They become envious of those who succeed, which can result in them slacking off in protest, amoung other problems.
A 2001 article co-authored by Vecchio, “Managing Envy and Jealousy in the Workplace,” outlined some of his research.
“Competition for rewards, resources and recognition drives much of the animosity and ill feelings associated with employee envy and jealousy,” it reads. “… Factors that contribute to greater levels of employee resentment include reengineering, diversity and generational conflicts. In addition to reduced performance, dysfunctional consequences of negative emotion include stress, job dissatisfaction, withdrawal, retaliation and poor citizenship.”
Vecchio recently produced a study that found 77 percent of workers have witnessed workplace envy. More than half admitted to experiencing it. Envy appears to rear its head in highly competitive workplaces where the emphasis is on individual rather than collective success. But it can happen anywhere.
Fortunately, Vecchio's 2001 offered five ways to avoid creating an envious workplace. Here's a summary:
- Evaluate the emotional maturity of candidates at the time of hire.
- Incorporate elements of team culture.
- Implement incentives that support cooperation.
- Encourage open communication.
- Place high performers (who often give rise to envy) in mentor roles.
Start the Conversation, Leave a Comment
This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?
You must be logged-in to submit a comment — login now!
Not registered with globeandmail.com? Register now. It is quick and free.
Alert us about this comment
Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.
Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.
