{"id":586,"date":"2016-01-14T15:35:51","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T15:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/?p=586"},"modified":"2016-12-13T08:13:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T08:13:02","slug":"suffering-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/suffering-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Suffering In The Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

Similar to life in general, it is not uncommon to\u00a0see constant suffering in our workplaces. \u00a0This is influenced and brought many times from our personal, social lives and also\u00a0\u00a0influenced\u00a0by the work environment.<\/p>\n

The word ‘suffer’ means to experience pain.<\/p>\n

Workplaces tend to see a lot of pain for many reasons, with a\u00a0feeling of constant unhappiness and dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n

In my observations, the following topics\u00a0are some of the major causes of personal suffering in the workplace.<\/p>\n

1. Unhealthy Ego<\/strong>
\nWhen the “I” and “me” feeling becomes very strong, it results in inevitable pain for oneself and others. \u00a0The need to prove oneself all the time blocks the action of encouraging and enabling others. \u00a0This also results in skewed views and inability to listen to and understand other perspectives. \u00a0The focus moves away from the key topic that needs attention from an organizational perspective. \u00a0Everything becomes personal. \u00a0There is also a need to control\u00a0as much as possible directly.<\/p>\n

2. Envy<\/strong>
\nThis is probably one of the most common reasons for unhappiness and suffering. \u00a0In organizations, some people grow disproportionately \u00a0faster than others due to better capability, fit for the job\/organization, specific circumstances, environment etc. \u00a0Sometimes, it may seem unfair. \u00a0Irrespective of the specific background, constant comparison with others leads to dissatisfaction with everything, personal pain and intense unhappiness that may seep into other areas in life.<\/p>\n

3. Never satisfied<\/strong>
\nMany\u00a0individuals are never satisfied. \u00a0The focus is always on gaining more,\u00a0what I\u00a0don’t have and what is missing for me. \u00a0There is a need for good balance in one aspect of striving for perfection and continuous improvement. \u00a0The suffering that results from\u00a0dissatisfaction\u00a0leads to unhappiness with self and others and constant urge\u00a0for more and more, without enjoying the present. \u00a0There are umpteen number of examples of brilliant corporate leaders who have lost all credibility due to greed or need to be perceived as high achievers\u00a0always.<\/p>\n

As A Result…
\n<\/strong>The resulting\u00a0themes noticed in organizations are anger, jealousy, frustration, stress, conflict, intense lack of trust and unhappiness. \u00a0All these lead to a feeling of disconnectedness and \u00a0disengagement \u00a0with self, work and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Many people also go through a feeling of helplessness or no hope, especially during changes. \u00a0There is a feeling of having very limited or no alternative choices during difficulties. \u00a0Hence, they decide to suffer through the situation making life worse for themselves and others around them. \u00a0The negativity and helplessness seem to just grow bigger.<\/p>\n

Extreme scenarios even lead to individual depression or mental health issues. \u00a0Unfortunately, normal work environments are not very kind or supportive in such instances due to various reasons including the high pace and demands of business.<\/p>\n

Negative emotions in the workplace are also transferred quickly among individuals and groups. \u00a0‘Emotional contagions’ spread\u00a0much quicker than one may think or imagine.<\/p>\n

Excessive unhealthy competition and lack of collaboration are other signs of a ‘sick’ work environment. \u00a0The organization overall suffers and falls behind in achieving its full potential and\u00a0success.<\/p>\n

What can be done…
\n<\/strong>Approaches for improvement\u00a0can be reviewed from an individual and organizational perspective. \u00a0Each one of us can start by looking after our own mental and physical wellbeing, without waiting for someone else to come with a magical answer. \u00a0Organizations can support with appropriate practices and environmental approaches.<\/p>\n

Self-Awareness and Self-Management, two core pillars of emotional intelligence are fundamental for anyone to manage individually. \u00a0We all can learn from our own experiences,\u00a0reflection and actions.<\/p>\n

Coming to terms with something that we may not agree with (acceptance) or finding our own ways to accept\u00a0the difficult change helps tremendously. \u00a0If that is not possible personally and if there is a persisting strong feeling of unfairness which\u00a0cannot be addressed, finding a new stream or possibility becomes a healthy choice for everyone.<\/p>\n

During difficult times, we need constant energy and encouragement from ourselves,\u00a0our closest support groups, friends and cheerleaders. \u00a0It is really important to believe that the tough times shall pass and it is up to us to start making the small steps and changes that will start a new path.<\/p>\n

Having an individual practice to find state of peace, harmony and balance like meditation, time with nature, time out from constant interruptions, hobbies etc. can help tremendously. \u00a0Constantly reflecting on the good things in our lives and focusing on gratitude (many studies indicate that maintaining a Gratitude Journal helps tremendously) can help focus on ‘what we have’, not ‘what we don’t have’. \u00a0Self compassion and forgiveness are very important when we are not able to meet our own expectations. \u00a0Studies seem to indicate that we are tougher and more critical of ourselves than others.<\/p>\n

From an organizational perspective, building a community feeling and social support in the workplace can also go a long way. \u00a0Social support is at the core\u00a0of successfully\u00a0helping\u00a0individuals to rebound from difficulties and challenges. \u00a0Work practices, supporting tools and environment have to be developed. \u00a0Every leader and manager can also play a key role in the wellbeing of the their teams and organizations through mindful interactions\u00a0and actions. \u00a0If consciously and carefully managed, they\u00a0could play a major role in building healthy environments and mental well-being in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Even a minor\u00a0reduction of\u00a0suffering in our lives and workplaces can\u00a0bring\u00a0a major difference to the individuals in our lives and the world around us.<\/p>\n

(Posted on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Image Credit:
\nwww.unsplash.com,<\/a>\u00a0Eutah Mizushima<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Similar to life in general, it is not uncommon to\u00a0see constant suffering in our workplaces. \u00a0This is influenced and brought many times from our personal, social lives and also\u00a0\u00a0influenced\u00a0by the work environment. The word ‘suffer’ means to experience pain. Workplaces tend to see a lot of pain for many reasons, with a\u00a0feeling of constant unhappiness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coaching","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":620,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions\/620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}