Intro

Competing is a natural instinct that workplaces often employ to increase overall productivity, however, this might backfire when the competition turns unhealthy as it emphasizes personal gain. When unhealthy competition occurs, employees often seek validation to compensate for weaknesses and typically compete to diminish other colleagues. Competition should regard the greater ideal of the workplace as opposed to honing in on personal benefit. Healthy competition is all about unlocking one’s potential without damaging the competitor's potential. It’s really not all about winning, rather it’s about growth. HRMatrix is here to discuss the differences between healthy and unhealthy competition to help you grow within successful circumstances. 

Personal Benefit

Typically when the competition turns unhealthy the employee searches for personal gain to achieve a successful experience at the workplace. This overlooks the overall productivity of the workplace indicating that the employee does not care about the company/business's well-being. When employees are solely looking for the personal benefit their goal is to either receive recognition or a promotion. While these are valid goals, it is important that the process of achieving such goals are not in an unhealthy, unstable, reckless manner that negatively affects the colleagues you are competing with.

Not About “Winning”

It’s really not all about winning Rado it’s about the greater ideal. Make sure that you keep in mind that the company's success depends on your hard work as well as the effort of other employees, so when you are engaging in competition worry less about “winning”. Be concerned with your work ethic and how it is contributing to the workplace because that will offer an increased benefit.

Getting Validation

When competitions are unhealthy, employees often strive to receive validation for their weaknesses as opposed to working on them. This is highly unproductive and feeds into insecurities as opposed to a healthy process of healing and strengthening. When you were taking part in a competition, remain aware of your intentions and needs. The goal for you is to ultimately grow and contribute to the business/company.

Diminishing Others

Keep in mind that competitions can get high, meaning colleagues might match your strengths if not exceed them. That doesn’t mean you should retaliate to prove your efficiency. Instead, you should assess the strength of your colleagues and try to implement them into your work ethic. In fact, ask for help as that will benefit you more than remaining envious of your colleague’s success.