How To Handle Difficult Relationships With Coworkers?

You may be wondering: Why it's happening to you and what can you do about it? This is the number one reason why people leave companies: not because of the job itself but because of the people they work with.

Why Are These Toxic Co-Workers Targeting You?

If you were feeling singled out and picked on compared to everyone else in the office, then there may be a variety of reasons for why that's happening. Either you're amazing and doing great, and they're simply jealous of you, or you're drawing it to yourself.

The Strong Performer

They may be jealous of you because you're a strong performer, you do great at work, you're well-liked by your managers and other co-workers, but there is a small group of toxic co-workers who are purely jealous of you.

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The best way to overcome this is to understand where that person is coming from (from an emotional and mental standpoint). This toxic individual may feel threatened by your presence. They may not have self-love and self-appreciation within themselves to say that it's okay that someone else came along and is doing a great job. Understanding is the key.

The Negative Performer

Another reason you are picked on can be that you are feeling hostile towards your co-workers, and they're feeling negative towards you because you already think negatively about yourself. What happens here is that negative energy is amplified to your external environment. What you are feeling on the inside is reflected on you by the people on the outside.

The way someone thinks about themselves, the energy they project, the thoughts, and the beliefs that they hold on directly impact the results that they can achieve in their everyday lives. The world is your mirror.

The only thing you have control over is yourself, your beliefs, how you feel about yourself, and how you project yourself. If you can change the way you think about yourself, it will change your entire situation with these toxic individuals at work.

Competitive Self-Esteem

Competitiveness is not destructive as long as it does not become something that fosters envy and threat. Compete with one and another allows us to maintain levels of growth and exceed expectations. This quality can motivate you to improve your skills and to move forward without fear. If you feel like a co-worker is trying to surpass you, that person recognizes all your abilities from a positive perspective.

If you are a very competitive person, it may seem like the only way to win is to surpass someone and reach a point where no one can go higher. Perfection does not exist, and seeking it can become an obsession. Avoid frustration and other negative emotions that make you feel stuck. Instead, recognize that you can always grow and be better. As you can see, competing can be healthy and even fun.