Pettiness: How to cope with this behaviour in the workplace
Pettiness in the workplace can cause a toxic environment and hinder productivity. We’ve found methods to help you cope with this behaviour.
Are you surrounded by petty people? Or are you perhaps the petty person?
What is pettiness?
Health News defines a petty person as someone who takes small issues or conflicts on in a vindictive or spiteful way. Pettiness can be seen in the way a person finds faults, criticises or holds on to minor or inconsequential affairs.
If you have a strong relationship with someone, this can be hindered by petty behaviour.
Coping with petty behaviour from others in your personal life may prove challenging, but dealing with the same actions in a work setting is far worse! Petty behaviour has an array of negative effects including diminished productivity and an overall negative impact on your well-being.
We’ve searched the web to find some tried and tested methods to cope with pettiness in the workplace to ensure you’re not hindering your productivity. Take a look:
Address the petty behaviour
Convene states that managers who fail to acknowledge or intervene when pettiness occurs tend to lose the respect of their employees while employees lose confidence in their leadership.
It’s important to nip these issues in the bud before they get completely out of hand. If your coworker makes a comment about something that has taken you a while to get to, ensure you respond in a diplomatic manner and explain that you have other work responsibilities that take precedence.
Take it with a pinch of salt
Pettiness stems from a lack of self-awareness, among other things. It’s essential to regulate your own emotions and handle disturbances in an amicable manner. Don’t allow yourself to dwell in the negativity of petty criticisms and comments.
According to Medium, petty people express a lot of emotions over small matters in a way to hide their feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.Get in touch with management
South Africa has laws in place to assist employees who are working in toxic environments. The South African Legislation on Harassment in the Workplace has been in effect since 18 May 2022 and has a number of ways to describe harassment.
According to Resource Recruitment, the legislation also outlines the proper channels for reporting said incidents to ensure that employees have structures and ways to protect themselves without fearing for their jobs.
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