Adding a Healthy Dose of Competition to the Workplace 💪

This week has felt like a lifetime but it has also taught me a valuable life lesson about the difference between healthy and unhealthy competition in the workplace, one which I hope is beneficial for others to read about. We hear a lot about competition and how it can help us become more motivated and innovational employees, however, humans are naturally competitive beings and too large a dose of competition can actually produce negative and unhealthy side effects for both the employee and the business. Healthy competition spurs you on, inspires creativity and personal growth, but too much competition can lead to inflated egos, oppositional micro teams, and team members hiding information from others. Instead of a team effort, where everyone in the business is trying to reach that ultimate goal, employees are suddenly out for themselves, and the atmosphere becomes that much more cutthroat and dangerous. Suddenly a job you're happy in is threatened by each and every action you do and it becomes increasingly difficult to switch off at the end of the working day. However, it is important that instead if jumping to conclusions that your place of work is offering that unhealthy competition, you take a step back and assess what the real situation is, not what has been exaggerated within your mind. Life after all, is all about balance, and no competition at all can make us lazy and complacent. A healthy dose of competition should be added to any working environment but be carefully managed by the team and the employer. It's also why having conversations with your employer/employee is vital to ensuring that the workplace is not becoming volatile. Being able to nip something which may develop into negativity in the bud is just good practice. So with that being said: How do you promote healthy competition in your workplace? Until next time.