How to Deal with Unhealthy Competition in the Workplace

30 January 2024

Have you ever felt a tense atmosphere like competition at work? The company environment is often the right place for someone to show off their abilities. Don't be surprised if this triggers some employees to compete to be the best.

In fact, the good side of competition is that it encourages your company's employees to provide the highest work performance. This is certainly beneficial for your business. Especially if the employee is in a strategic division. There is a possibility that other employees will also be motivated to work even better.

Unfortunately, there is also competition that makes an employee act too far. This means that he can find various ways to get his work recognized and emerge as the winner of the competition. This is what ultimately builds a culture of unhealthy competition in your company.

Competition in the Workplace

Reporting from the MindTools page, competition is a form of competition with other people. Not to focus on achieving success or prizes. According to Gavin Kilduff from New York University's Stern School of Business, United States, the more similar someone is, the more likely they are to compete.

Competition in the work environment can appear in various forms, you know. Your company should be able to recognize this when it occurs among employees. For example, a team leader refuses to brainstorm with the rest of the team to create a project. This was done because they were worried that an idea would be hijacked by the team.

There may also be employees who deliberately ask their leaders for additional tasks. However, the intention is not to develop or improve performance. These employees just want to look impressive and good in front of their superiors. In fact, he doesn't hesitate to knock down his office mates and claim ideas.

If this happens in your company, you should be alert. Problems like this can cause friction and cheating so that the workplace does not feel comfortable. You will find it difficult to find employees who are truly loyal and sincerely work. Many are just looking for faces.

Unhealthy competition between employees can also make your company lose superior seeds. People who really work well can't stand these conditions and will choose to resign.

How to Deal with Unfair Competition

You certainly don't want unhealthy competition to damage the trust of company employees, right? That is why, you must be able to overcome and face the problem of unhealthy competition. This is for the progress and development of the company.

Don't let your company become busy dealing with internal problems only. Of course, this can hinder the development of your business, you know. For this reason, don't hesitate to address the competition problem before it spreads. Here's how to deal with competition in your company.

1. Be aware of signs of unhealthy competition

The first step you can take is to be aware of the signs of unhealthy competition between employees in your company. For example, in one of the divisions in the office there is often friction between one employee and another employee. Starting from arguments to the possibility of bullying.

Another sign is that a number of employees often gossip or talk about unusual rumors about one of the employees whose performance is good. Trust between work partners also begins to decrease. This makes them look for other people's mistakes.

You can watch the team interact between members. Try to check whether there are negative body, facial and attitude gestures. You can also ask questions about an employee to find out the reactions of other team members.

2. Hold a Meeting with Team Members

Once you discover signs of unhealthy competition in the workplace, they must be addressed immediately. If you let it go, it is feared that it could cause even more serious problems in the company. Of course, this is something that can go away on its own. Must be repaired.

Try meeting a number of employees who are carrying out unhealthy competition separately. Listen to their opinions so you understand their concerns. Let them express their feelings. Your job is to ensure they stay focused on the facts, not blame without evidence.

You can prepare notes regarding the negative attitudes observed. Don't forget to note down the effect on other team members. From the results of these observations, you can provide appropriate ways to resolve conflicts and restore employee focus to achieving goals.

3. Ensure Role Boundaries

Sometimes in a company, the role of each employee cannot be well defined. This is what makes a number of employees have to do work that is not their responsibility.

For this reason, you must create clear and fair job descriptions for each employee. Don't forget to regularly conduct reviews every month.

4. Avoid comparisons

You should know that comparing competitors is a no-no. If you have to do it, make sure it is confidential. You can also change job descriptions so that competitors do not engage in unhealthy competition.

5. Do Team Building

So that unhealthy competition can be resolved quickly, you have to do team building. This is done in order to maintain team harmony and productivity. Make those who are in unhealthy competition aware to refocus on one team's target. This team building event can also make you closer to your team members.

They also got to know each other better. More personal bonding can be the start of a good relationship between employees.

When unhealthy competition appears in your company, deal with it firmly and resolve it immediately. Follow some of the methods above so that this competition problem doesn't harm other people, don't hesitate to involve the HR team or your manager.

Have you ever felt a tense atmosphere like competition at work? The company environment is often the right place for someone to show off their abilities. Don't be surprised if this triggers some employees to compete to be the best.

In fact, the good side of competition is that it encourages your company's employees to provide the highest work performance. This is certainly beneficial for your business. Especially if the employee is in a strategic division. There is a possibility that other employees will also be motivated to work even better.

Unfortunately, there is also competition that makes an employee act too far. This means that he can find various ways to get his work recognized and emerge as the winner of the competition. This is what ultimately builds a culture of unhealthy competition in your company.

Competition in the Workplace

Reporting from the MindTools page, competition is a form of competition with other people. Not to focus on achieving success or prizes. According to Gavin Kilduff from New York University's Stern School of Business, United States, the more similar someone is, the more likely they are to compete.

Competition in the work environment can appear in various forms, you know. Your company should be able to recognize this when it occurs among employees. For example, a team leader refuses to brainstorm with the rest of the team to create a project. This was done because they were worried that an idea would be hijacked by the team.

There may also be employees who deliberately ask their leaders for additional tasks. However, the intention is not to develop or improve performance. These employees just want to look impressive and good in front of their superiors. In fact, he doesn't hesitate to knock down his office mates and claim ideas.

If this happens in your company, you should be alert. Problems like this can cause friction and cheating so that the workplace does not feel comfortable. You will find it difficult to find employees who are truly loyal and sincerely work. Many are just looking for faces.

Unhealthy competition between employees can also make your company lose superior seeds. People who really work well can't stand these conditions and will choose to resign.

How to Deal with Unfair Competition

You certainly don't want unhealthy competition to damage the trust of company employees, right? That is why, you must be able to overcome and face the problem of unhealthy competition. This is for the progress and development of the company.

Don't let your company become busy dealing with internal problems only. Of course, this can hinder the development of your business, you know. For this reason, don't hesitate to address the competition problem before it spreads. Here's how to deal with competition in your company.

1. Be aware of signs of unhealthy competition

The first step you can take is to be aware of the signs of unhealthy competition between employees in your company. For example, in one of the divisions in the office there is often friction between one employee and another employee. Starting from arguments to the possibility of bullying.

Another sign is that a number of employees often gossip or talk about unusual rumors about one of the employees whose performance is good. Trust between work partners also begins to decrease. This makes them look for other people's mistakes.

You can watch the team interact between members. Try to check whether there are negative body, facial and attitude gestures. You can also ask questions about an employee to find out the reactions of other team members.

2. Hold a Meeting with Team Members

Once you discover signs of unhealthy competition in the workplace, they must be addressed immediately. If you let it go, it is feared that it could cause even more serious problems in the company. Of course, this is something that can go away on its own. Must be repaired.

Try meeting a number of employees who are carrying out unhealthy competition separately. Listen to their opinions so you understand their concerns. Let them express their feelings. Your job is to ensure they stay focused on the facts, not blame without evidence.

You can prepare notes regarding the negative attitudes observed. Don't forget to note down the effect on other team members. From the results of these observations, you can provide appropriate ways to resolve conflicts and restore employee focus to achieving goals.

3. Ensure Role Boundaries

Sometimes in a company, the role of each employee cannot be well defined. This is what makes a number of employees have to do work that is not their responsibility.

For this reason, you must create clear and fair job descriptions for each employee. Don't forget to regularly conduct reviews every month.

4. Avoid comparisons

You should know that comparing competitors is a no-no. If you have to do it, make sure it is confidential. You can also change job descriptions so that competitors do not engage in unhealthy competition.

5. Do Team Building

So that unhealthy competition can be resolved quickly, you have to do team building. This is done in order to maintain team harmony and productivity. Make those who are in unhealthy competition aware to refocus on one team's target. This team building event can also make you closer to your team members.

They also got to know each other better. More personal bonding can be the start of a good relationship between employees.

When unhealthy competition appears in your company, deal with it firmly and resolve it immediately. Follow some of the methods above so that this competition problem doesn't harm other people, don't hesitate to involve the HR team or your manager.

Prasetiya Mulya Executive Learning Institute
Prasetiya Mulya Cilandak Campus, Building 2, #2203
Jl. R.A Kartini (TB. Simatupang), Cilandak Barat, Jakarta 12430
Indonesia
Prasetiya Mulya Executive Learning Institute
Prasetiya Mulya Cilandak Campus, Building 2, #2203
Jl. R.A Kartini (TB. Simatupang), Cilandak Barat,
Jakarta 12430
Indonesia