Envy at work -Don't let this emotional time bomb destroy your career
Published:Wednesday | December 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Glenford Smith, Career Writer
There is a legend about a Burmese potter who had become envious of the prosperity of a washerman. Determined to put this man out of business, the potter convinced the king to issue an order, requiring the man to wash one of the emperor's black elephants and make it white.
The washerman replied that according to the rules of his vocation he would need a vessel large enough to hold the elephant whereupon the king commanded the potter to provide one. So the potter constructed a giant bowl and had it carefully delivered to the washerman. But when the elephant stepped into it, it crumbled to pieces beneath its weight.
Many more vessels were made, but each was crushed in the same way. Eventually it was the potter who was put out of business by the very scheme he had devised to ruin the man he envied.
The moral of this well-known tale is that envy may end up sabotaging the work performance and career success of persons driven to undermine those they envy.
Envy, the feeling of resentment and jealousy over the achievements of another person, can have devastating consequences to your career if not recognised and managed. Equally important is your ability to identify those who are envious of you in order to protect yourself from their possible attempts to tear you down.
Envy may appear where one person gets a promotion, a raise, or even a prized assignment. Here's how to detect envy in yourself and others and how to disarm this deadly time bomb waiting to explode in your career and work life.
First, envy engenders the compulsion to disparage or belittle another's abilities, skills, achievement or possession. If you find yourself in the habit of devaluing your colleague's achievement or attributing his success to luck or favouritism, then envy may be at work here. If someone does this to you, it's a strong likelihood that he or she envies you.
Another telltale sign is if someone doesn't want to be around you after you've had a major success, especially if you used to be close friends. It is too painful for envious people to be around the object of their envy so they distance themselves instead.
These two responses may cause the envious person to run the risk of damaging the successful person's reputation or undermining their effectiveness with others. What is more likely, however, is that others will stigmatise and avoid the envious individual due to his or her negative personality.
To deal with envy, you first must be perceptive enough to identify it in yourself-and those who envy you. Recognising what you envy in others could point out where you need to work on improving yourself.
Also, refuse to compare yourself with others unwisely. Instead, compare yourself with your past performance to insure you're improving. Affirm your own achievements and successes.
Finally, seek to learn from others rather than envying them. Remember the Swedish proverb: 'Envy shoots at others and wounds itself'.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and personal achievement strategist.
Envy comes from people's ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts.
- Jean Vanier
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