The Invisible Competition
by Elizabeth Yeter
We had trained together. We had started at the same time. We were the same age, twenty-four to be exact. So I should be upset that he was getting his own store and I was still teaching employees how to fold panties and auditing freezer temperatures, right?
Nope. Not in the least. Because to be honest, I didn’t really want the job of store manager. Ever. If I aspired to be anything in the retail industry, it was more like a buyer or something at the corporate level.
And yet I found myself seething when I learned that Marcus was getting his own store. And we’re not talking small potatoes here. We worked for the big box retail giant Target. It was my very first “real” job out of college. I can and probably will sing the accolades of Target in a later post, but let me just say that they are a wonderful company to work for and I absolutely loved being an executive team leader.
Did I feel passed over? Absolutely not. Because, as mentioned earlier, I didn’t want to be a store manager. Despite that fact, however, my thoughts were still consumed by comparing myself to Marcus. Was he smarter than me? More charming? A better leader?
So rather than being happy to see my coworker prosper, I was jealous. Which sounds ridiculous given the above information that I didn’t want the job. Jealous of something you don’t want? That doesn’t make any sense!
As I’ve grown in my work experience, I learned that these kinds of workplace rivalries are commonplace. We may eat a slice of that big-ol’ Costco cake someone buys to congratulate Jim on his promotion, but we choke it down with resentment. We don’t truly celebrate the achievements of others because in our minds they beat us out for a prize. In my case, a prize I didn’t even want.
This invisible competition is hurting our work lives in three major ways.
Our overall satisfaction with work decreases.
Competitions are stressful. And if work is like Hunger Games, you’re going to be stressed out and less productive. But even if your office promotes what they believe is healthy competition, you do not need to buy into it. Remember to always be true to yourself, no matter what everyone else is doing.
It hinders our relationships with coworkers.
If you always feel like your’e in competition with the people around you, it’s difficult to relax and really enjoy their company. And even if you don’t want to sing karaoke together on the weekends, you still need to have the comfort of knowing they have your back.
It slows your progress.
When you spend your mental energy trying to one-up others, you aren’t focusing on your own growth. You cannot control how good or bad Jim is at his job, and you certainly don’t want to waste your time attempting to sabotage his career. That won’t facilitate your development into the best version of yourself. Stop comparing yourself to coworkers and start setting goals for who you want to be.