Healthy competition isn’t bad as it pushes you out of your comfort zone to aim higher and take on greater responsibilities. At times, working with a competitive person leads to successful outcomes. However, in most cases, competition is not always the best way to get people to bring out their best. Collaboration is believed to be a better alternative and even when competition exists, it should be minimal and geared towards attaining the common objective of the organisation. When the competition gets out of hand, the entire team gets affected. It is every leader’s role therefore, to ensure that they encourage healthy competition to enable the entire team to grow so as individuals do not tear the team apart. Some of the risks of unhealthy competition include; According to John Bosco Muhire, a business manager in a local procurement firm, unhealthy competition destroys teamwork. Since teamwork is generally the willingness of a group of people to work together to achieve a common aim, when unhealthy competition kicks in, it only breeds division as each person simply wants to excel on their own. He says, unhealthy competition pulls individuals in the opposite direction instead of uniting them to work towards growing the company. In the end, it leads to fights thus leading to regular failure and a toxic environment. Muhire calls upon managers and leaders to make sure that the competition amongst team members is suited towards growth as a team but not bragging as individuals. He adds that unhealthy competition creates negativity as workmates may want to prove that they are better than others. Sometimes, individuals may start keeping useful information to themselves, either to appear smarter, or stop others from creating better results than them. The business manager carries on that unhealthy competition can in the end lead to stress as some employees may feel overpowered by others thus even losing morale to report to work. He adds that overcoming competition starts with appreciating and celebrating others’ success even when they are better than you in some areas. “When you revel others to achieve their dreams, meet targets or get that promotion, you start to care less about yourself and more about others, which is beneficial for your mental health and happiness. In return, you can expect the same level of support from your colleagues when you are facing a challenge or if you excel,” he says. He urges people to try working with their colleagues and ask for advice where necessary. This, he say, might help them see that you’re not an enemy and that there is no need for hostility or hatred. If you have tried all your options but still feel the effects of a toxic work environment, try to look for another job as your happiness matters a lot, Muhire says. According to Career Addict, the mature way would be to call out your envious colleague by talking to them in a calm manner. After all, they may not even realise that they are being overly competitive and that its hurting team morale. Make sure you can provide a couple of examples of when their actions have been unethical – this may be all it takes to kick the competitiveness to the curb and start working in a more friendly and healthy environment. “Use this unhealthy competition to better yourself and your skills, and generally shift the energy to focus on improving your strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. Having an open conversation with your manager may also be the only resolution to this unhealthy environment. It’s important to tread carefully when approaching this situation, though, as you won’t want to look like you’re causing conflict in the office.”
