AMMAN — A little healthy competition in the workplace never hurts anyone, but when it turns into all-out war, you know you have a problem on your hands.

In fact, too much competition can cause stress and kill the morale of many colleagues.

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So how do you deal with a annoying coworker who is always trying to frustrate you and get the best at work? And how should you deal with competition in the workplace?

Unhealthy ergonomics makes the overall situation uncomfortable (Pixels)

Competition is a stimulation or frustration?

Mohammed Tamli, a trainer in business administration and personal and professional development, says that competition at work is a form of motivation for employees, as it helps them increase productivity, innovation and explode their creative energies, but when competition becomes unhealthy, it is harmful to individuals and negatively affects the work environment, to reflect on the employee's performance and creativity.

He adds – to Al Jazeera Net – that "perhaps not without a work environment at times of this unhealthy competition, especially when the employer lacks a positive institutional culture."

During his tenure in the human resources department, he found "that such competition has a negative impact on employees", he said.

The negative impact is as follows:

  • Employees feel stressed.
  • Loss of trust between employees and management, especially when false information is presented with the aim of visibility and excellence.
  • Loss of effective communication between employees.

  • Work shifted from the formula of collaboration and teamwork to individual work.


    Dictate: If unhealthy competition negatively affects your performance and psychological well-being, seek support from management (Al Jazeera)

Tips for dealing in an unhealthy work environment

The trainer believes that an unhealthy work environment makes work uncomfortable and anxious, and becomes an unsafe and unsuitable environment for talented employees, affecting their psychological comfort, concentration and ability to work efficiently.

It offers some tips for dealing with unhealthy competition in the workplace:

  • Avoid being attracted to negative competition, and focus on achieving your personal goals.
  • Independently develop your skills and boost your performance.
  • Try to build healthy relationships with your coworkers.
  • Maintain your positive psychology and stay away from negative conversations and criticism of others.
  • Look at competition as an opportunity to grow and develop.
  • Maintain respect and professionalism in dealing with your colleagues.
  • If unhealthy competition negatively affects your performance and psychological well-being, do not hesitate to seek support from management.

While it is important to implement these tips, we must understand that healthy competition is a natural part of the work and can be a powerful catalyst for creativity and innovation.

However, we must maintain a healthy balance and work together to create an environment that encourages innovation and collaboration, and promotes employee well-being and creativity, according to trainer Tamli.

Kilani calls for adhering to healthy and honest competition whatever the circumstances (Al Jazeera)

Healthy competition is desirable but...

Human development trainer Sawsan Kilani agrees with the trainer that healthy competition is very desirable at work, because it gives incentives for progress, development and creativity, and brings out the potential of the employee and allows for an innovative environment that saves time and effort and supports excellence.

She adds in her interview with Al Jazeera Net that competition is something that every institution needs in this era in which we face many challenges at all levels, especially with the tremendous technological progress and artificial intelligence that has become sweeping all the world, warning lazy and racques to nepotism and narrow personal interests that they have no place in it.

She considers that a person who does not prove himself, achieve himself and compete for his job will end up at home, because there is no retreat from moving forward, as she put it.

Kilani says that every position you reach through unhealthy and dishonest competition "will be a scourge on you first and foremost, because it violates the principles, values and creed that we were raised on, which were the reason for the blessing in livelihood, money and children."

Kilani calls for adhering to good morals, treating people with kindness, and healthy and honest competition, whatever the circumstances, because this preserves your mental health and makes your conscience comfortable.

"There is room in the world for good to prevail everywhere if we sincerely intend to trust in God, do everything we can, develop ourselves and extend a helping hand to others with honor and good intentions, so that we survive and the ship survives," she added.

If a colleague is constantly competing with you, talk to them in a calm way, they may not realize that they are exaggerating the competition (Pixels)

Dealing with competition in a professional way

The "Career Addict" website offers some tips to deal with the competition in a professional and agile way to some extent, including:

  • Assess the situation: You have to assess the situation and make sure that there are no misunderstandings, as every workplace is different, so it is useful to think about whether you are a bit sensitive to the situation, or if the situation is as competitive as you think, and assess whether a particular colleague seems competitive, or if the team as a whole.
  • Don't lose focus: It's easy to let a competitive coworker negatively impact your work life, making you deliberately lose focus and, ultimately, an easy win. So learn how to resist temptation and focus on what you are set to do.
  • Talk to a competitive colleague: If a particular colleague is constantly competing with you, the thing you should do is talk to them in a calm way. After all, he may not even realize that he is exaggerating the competition, and that it hurts the team's morale.
  • Compete with yourself: Use this competition to improve yourself and your skills, divert your energy to focus on improving your strengths, and eliminate weaknesses if any.