Jealousy in the workplace

Daniel in the den of lions. Such a familiar story! But before we jump to that den with those lions, let’s take our time and work our way slowly through Daniel 6, because there’s an awful lot to learn along the way.

For example, why did Daniel end up in the lions’ den? Because he refused to stop praying to his God?

And why did that suddenly become an issue when he’d been doing it a long time? Because the leaders of the day – the administrators and satraps – made it into an issue.

And why did they decide to make the king suddenly think this was important? Because they could find nothing else to get Daniel into trouble for.

And why did they want to get Daniel into trouble in the first place? Because they were jealous of him.

Jealousy. That’s the root cause of all this. And as we know,’jealousy is the root of all evil’. Loosely based on this verse –

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  James 3:16

Daniel was one of the three administrators to whom the 120 satraps were accountable. He was a foreigner in exile, remember. He’d been dragged away from his homeland with all the other refugees. What did he know about ruling in Babylon? Why should they have to listen to him?

It gets worse.

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.  Daniel 6:3

This is crazy! We have to put a stop to this! The king’s lost his mind! We can’t let a foreigner have all the power.

And so they look for a reason to drag Daniel down. The problem is there isn’t one. His work is impeccable. He can’t be faulted. Which must be even more annoying.

He was trustworthy. He was not corrupt. He was not negligent.

The only way they’ll have anything on Daniel is to make it about his faith.

 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.”  Daniel 6:6-7

A great plan to appeal to the king’s vanity and bring Daniel down. Because these men know Daniel. They know him well enough to know he will not stop praying to his God. Not for anyone. Not even for the king.

So this famous story is based on workplace jealousy. Which is still a thing now, right? Just try googling jealousy in the workplace if you need convincing.

Go back to that verse from James. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. Sound like anywhere you’ve ever worked?

When you do well at work and this hard work and achievement are recognised by the boss, there’ll be some who are really pleased for you. And there are others who are not. Who get jealous of the attention you’re getting. Who want it to be them. Who feel that they deserve it more than you do.

And so what happens next? They’re on a mission to get you. To show you up and drag you down. To make your life a misery at work. To undermine you and make snide comments about you. To make people see that you’re not that wonderful after all.

A workplace can be such a stressful place, a highly competitive environment. In a way, a workplace is built on rivalry. Sales competitions, star of the month, performance related pay, commission… You need to do better than those around you. You need to be the one that shines. Sometimes it’s a question of survival of the fittest. And this of course, though it is designed to bring out the best in the workforce, it often brings out the worst.

So how can we deal with this?

Well, first of all, look to make sure you’re not the one feeling jealous of someone else. It’s OK to have those feelings  think. It’s only natural if you want to get on and do well that there’s a tinge of jealousy when someone else does better than you. Or gets recognised when you don’t feel you are being recognised. It’s time for some honesty. With yourself and maybe your boss. It’s the response to jealousy that is often the problem. Jealousy should never lead to treating someone with less respect and kindness than they deserve.

Then recognise that if you have done something exceptionally good and been recognised for it, then it’s natural for those around you to feel a bit jealous. Try to understand where they’re coming from. Be sensitive to their situation. Be pleased yes, but don’t go on and on about it. Don’t act all smug and superior. Handle your success with grace.

And make sure you’re a Daniel. Always bring your A game to everything you do so that when you find yourself in this situation, no one has anything on you because you have always been trustworthy and not been corrupt or negligent, even in the smallest of tasks.

Rise to the challenge of meeting whatever is thrown at you with grace and love. It may well hurt, but don’t retaliate. Try not to take it too personally – of course it feels personal right now, but this has far more to do with the situation than with you as a person. Keep being kind. Keep smiling. Keep calm and carry on with your good work.

And if they find a way to try to trap you, be wise. Stay calm. Recognise it for what it is. And do the right thing.

Be a Daniel.

And enjoy your day at work!