Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Rivalry in the workplace

Rivalry in the workplace:
What impact does workplace rivalry have on employee motivation and productivity?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Figure 1. Workplace rivals discussing their work. Case study You have been with your company for the last few years. Slowly, you have been making your way up the company ladder towards your dream job. Jill started at a similar time and appears to be on the same career path. Each promotion and team assignment you have had to fight Jill for. The role you have been working towards is finally up for grabs, and you find out that you are not the only person applying for the job. Jill is your workplace rival, the person standing in your way, the person who has made you work harder, and the person that you have compared yourself against in the company.

Have you ever gone toe to toe with a colleague? Competing for the same promotion, benefits, or project? Is there someone in the office that you just can't stand and you secretly wish for their downfall? This person could be described as your workplace rival, and depending on the situation, your source of production or Achilles heel. This chapter explores the foundations of rivalry in the workplace, the psychological perspectives, impacts on the workplace, impacts on mental health, and how to end a rivalry.

What is a rivalry?

The Oxford dictionary defines a rivalry as competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field. A state of two people or groups competing for the same object or goal as others, outshine each other's performance, and wish to have the satisfaction of victory against another in lasting competition (Milstein et al.)

A workplace rivalry is an ongoing competition in a workplace. The rivals compete over work-related matters. Promotions, raises, recognition, better work tasks, and other benefits or perks are all examples of the things people hope to gain in the workplace and may compete over. This extends further as rivals are often very similar in wants and attributes, causing them to compete. Having a rivalry in the workplace can be described as the person in the company that makes you work harder to outperform to gain the satisfaction of beating the other (Kilduff, 2010). A workplace rival can increase your motivation and productivity to work to a higher standard. However, if the rivalry goes too far and turns hostile, it can have serious negative implications and have consequences for your career prospects.

Kilduff's psychological definition of rivalry “We define rivalry as a subjective competitive relationship that a focal actor has with another actor, which increases the focal actor's psychological involvement and stakes in six competitions independent of the objective characteristics of the situation. In other words, rivalry exists when an actor places greater significance on competition against—or is more “competitive” towards—certain other opponents as a direct result of his or her competitive relationships with these opponents, controlling for any objective stakes (financial, reputational, or otherwise). Thus, this conception of rivalry captures the extent to which competition is relational, as opposed to models of competition in which competitiveness is driven purely by objective threat or the extent to which actors goals are in opposition (Kilduff, 2010).”

Famous examples of rivals

Figure 2. Pepsi vs. Cola compares and contrasts the rival brands.

There are many places where rivalry can occur; some of the most common examples are sports teams, companies with similar products or branding, and celebrities. Rivalries can extend past just the people competing and affect the supporters. This is common for political rivalries to spread beyond the political parties the followers. Famous examples of workplace rivalries are the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola also known as the Cola wars and Kayne West versus Taylor Swift.

Pros and cons of a rivalry

Table 1. The pros and cons of a rivalry particularly in the workplace.

Pros	Cons
Encourage people to work to a higher standard.	Fear of failure.
Competition can make people put more effort and detail in their work.	Hostile rivalries can leave employees feeling discouraged and unvalued.
Increase workplace productivity for both the rivals and team.	Limits workplace collaboration and joint problem solving.
Assists with long-term career if rivalry is healthy.	Can create a toxic workplace and culture.
Could help people work towards promotions.	Potential to make people want to leave the workplace.
Boost growth and innovation.	Hinder team morale.
	Unnecessary stress and pressure to achieve.
	Could inspire dishonest and unfair behaviours.
	Create negative self-image and lower self-esteem.
	Force people to exhaust their resources.
	Lead to burnout.

Psychological perspectives

The psychology of rivalry

The Psychology of Rivalry is a psychological theory founded by Gavin James Kilduff explaining the cause, occurrence, and effects of rivalries. Kilduff states that competition is a fact of life; people are always in some capacity competing. During competition, it is typically associated with the desire to outperform, enhancing motivation and performance to defeat the opposition. Although anybody competing for the same objects or goals can be seen as competition, certain opponents can drive motivation to perform beyond a regular competitive nature. This is described as a rivalry. When engaging in competition with a rival, victory or defeat is experienced in greater extremes as the psychological stakes are heightened.

Context for rivalry in the workplace Kilduff states that rivalry has the potential to be especially common in the workplace; this is due to the ongoing nature of competition. Within companies, people might find themselves repeatedly fighting the same person from promotions and bonuses and will begin to see one another as rivals in the ongoing struggle for career progression.

The pre-existing literature on competition in psychology was predominately founded by the research paper titled 'A Theory of Co-operation and Competition' by Morton Deutsch in 1949. Deutsch defined competition through negative links in goal attainment. The success of one person comes at the direct failure of another. This led to the understanding that competitors attitudes and behaviours can be substantively impacted by the degree to which they view opponents as their rivals. Rivalry is a subjective concept as it exists within the minds of the rivals, going beyond corporate hierarchies and positions. As friendships and other types of relationships can vary with strength, so can rivalry. Although people usually associate rivalry as a reciprocated relationship, it is not required to be two-sided, and one side might view the competition as rivalry while the other does not.

Focus points: Competition is a fact of life. The success of one participant comes at the failure of another. Predicted that people will feel more motivated to perform when in competition (Kilduff, 2010).

Personality traits and dark triad theory

Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are referred to as the dark triad of negative personality traits. This concept was coined by researchers Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002. The three traits have overlapping qualities yet also have distinct differences (Haar & de Jong, 2023).

Figure 3. The dark triad diagram depicting the different traits and the overlapping features.

Narcissism is known for extreme arrogance and inflated self-regard. Narcissists can be described as extreme, frustrating, and emotionally volatile. If narcissists do not receive their desired attention, they can lash out, acting emotionally abusive or violent.

Machiavellianism is a personality trait describing manipulative behavior. People with this personality trait are deceitful, malicious, and extremely goal-oriented. They will do anything and everything necessary to achieve their goal, even at the cost of others.

The psychopathy personality trait is characterised by having a lack of remorse and empathy. This is considered the worst or 'darkest' trait in the trio, being the most likely trait to cause harm to others (Haar & de Jong, 2023)

The competitiveness trait is another high predictor of workplace rivalries (Elizabeth, 2016). People who have a competitive nature look for competition at every opportunity. They view colleagues as competition, and anyone that makes them feel threatened is a rival (Reese et al., 2022).

People with these personality traits are more likely to have a workplace rival. Narcissists have a vulnerable self-image, which they are desperate to maintain, seeking attention and praise to feel good about themselves. The drive for social recognition is a key motivator for performance. Narcissists are likely to have a rival as they view themselves above others and are unwilling to lose against someone they deem as lesser (Szabó et al., 2023).

Social comparison theory

Social comparison theory was proposed in 1954 by social psychologist Leon Festinger (Gerber, 2020). The theory suggests that individuals compare themselves with other people to assess their own attitudes, abilities, and beliefs. People evaluate themselves against others instead of objective criteria. The social comparison can either have an upwards or downwards influence depending on who they are comparing themselves to. The comparison can impact self-esteem, self-worth, and motivation with either a positive or negative influence. Comparing yourself to others has the potential to upwardly motivate yourself to improve their performance to match or beat the person they compare themselves to (Han et al., 2022).

In regards to workplace rivalry, social comparison theory is a strong basis for competition between colleagues and the potential to begin a rivalry. Individuals can feel envious of perks and benefits other colleagues receive in comparison to themselves, which can motivate them to perform at a higher level (Han et al., 2022). The increase in behaviour is explained as the individual feels that they deserve better in comparison to their competitors. There is an inherent tendency to compete, which arises when evaluating and comparing themselves to colleagues (Chen et al., 2024).

Receiving mentorship or assistance from leadership or other colleagues is identified as being one of the key points of comparison. The rival will view their competitor receiving mentorship as an unfair advantage in comparison to the treatment (Han et al., 2022). This outlook can be internalised as a driver for success, driving motivation and performance against their rival for better or for worse.

Goal setting theory

Goal-setting theory was outlined in 1968. By American psychologist Dr. Edwin A. Locke. Locke's theory states that clear, well-defined, and measurable goals enhance performance better than vague objectives. The theory proposes that having challenging and identifiable goals serves to motivate and improve people's performance. Accomplishing a goal gives the individual a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment (Locke & Latham, 2013). This psychological reward is higher when completing a longtime or persistent goal, like a rivalry. This describes the idea of a rival as a goal to pursue and providing structure and motivation for high-achieving performance.

Positive and negative stress

Positive stress

Figure 4. Workplace office in a state of stress brought on by workplace chaos.

Positive stress, also referred to as eustress, is a type of stress that has beneficial effects on people's bodies and minds (Milsum, 1985). This type of stress assists the individual to complete tasks and face challengers. Positive stress acts as a motivator for performance, enhancing focus and attention (Albort-Morant et al., 2020). Short-term positive stress can increase alertness, which boosts job performance. An example of positive stress is completing work that is stressful but rewarding and satisfying.

Negative stress

Negative stress, also referred to as stress, is a state of overwhelming, worrying, or anxious feelings in response to challenges. Negative stress can affect behaviour, feelings, thoughts, and the body, having both physiological and psychological consequences. Chronic stress is long-term negative stress that can cause lifelong health issues (Bhui et al., 2016).

Stress in the workplace

Stress in the workplace is defined as a feeling of harness, frustration, distress, or tension (Albort-Morant et al., 2020). If employees are feeling challenged in the workplace, they will experience positive stress and feel motivated. When employees experience continuous or repetitive negative stress, it can cause them to form pessimistic views on the workplace. The type of stress the employee feels will alter their outlook in the workplace, including factors of job satisfaction, staff morale, and commitment to the company (Albort-Morant et al., 2020). These factors also correlate with motivation and performance. Depending on the individual internalisation, seeing rivals do well can spark positive stress and inspire people to do better in performance. In a healthy rivalry, positive stress will be a leading factor in how the rivalry encourages better performance. However, if the individual experiences negative stress due to a workplace rivalry, they are more likely to get overwhelmed and either lose motivation or produce low-quality work. Rivalry in the workplace can also make the work environment toxic for all staff in the office and force the group to take sides. This segregation can lead to a decrease in motivation and performance for the whole team, not just the rivals. In these situations, people get caught up in the gossip and chatter and lose focus on their jobs. It can also make it harder to complete tasks if everyone is not willing to cooperate and work together due to the rivalry, which creates more stress.

Impacts on mental health

Burnout

Burnout is a state of complete physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). People experiencing burnout can lose interest in activities they usually find enjoyable and meaningful, stop caring about things that they previously found important, and suffer an increased sense of hopelessness. Feeling burned out is described as feeling empty, mentally exhausted, and unable to care. Burnout typically occurs from prolonged or repeated stress, most commonly in the workplace (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). A Gallop survey found that 23% of workers report being burned out very often or always, and 44% feel burned out sometimes. Burnout is becoming more predominant due to today's digital world. The World Health Organisation in 2022 updated the burnout definition in the textbook International Classification of Diseases as an "occupational phenomenon" stemming from "chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” as it is harder to log off and step away. The World Health Organisation in 2022 updated the burnout definition in the textbook International Classification of Diseases as an "occupational phenomenon" stemming from "chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

A study titled 'Coping with burnout? Measuring the links between workplace conflicts, work-related stress, and burnout' in 2023 completed a statistical analysis finding on burnout. The results found that when employees experience significant conflict with clients, colleagues or supervisors are more likely to experience burnout. These findings indicate that having a workplace rivalry can increase the chances of experiencing burnout.

Table 2. Burnout symptoms categorised into types

Physical Consequences	Psychological Effects:	Professional Effects:
Hypercholesterolemia – high cholesterol	Insomnia	Job dissatisfaction
Type 2 diabetes	Depressive symptoms	Absenteeism
Coronary heart disease	Use of psychotropic and antidepressant medications	New disability pension
Hospitalisation due to cardiovascular disorder	Hospitalisation for mental disorders and psychological ill-health symptoms	Job demands
Musculoskeletal pain	Impaired personal relationships	Presenteeism
Changes in pain experiences	Reliance on substances to cope	Drop in productivitity
Prolonged fatigue	Withdrawal from friends and families	Low motivation
Headaches	Difficulty to concentrate	Low work standards
Gastrointestinal issues	Procrastination	Impacted work relationships
Respiratory problems
Severe injuries and mortality below the age of 45 years

The term "burnout" was coined in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, an American psychologist. As this research is still fairly new and undiscussed, people often mistake burnout for feeling tired (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, 2017).

Anxiety and depression

Anxiety

Anxiety is defined as apprehension, tension, or uneasiness that stems from the anticipation of danger, which may be internal or external (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1980). Another description of anxiety is intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about ordinary and everyday situations. Anxiety can be felt out of anticipation for future events, feeling concerned about the possibility of something happening. When people feel anxiety for a long period of time, they could be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Figure 5. Individual being overwhelmed with negative thoughts from anxiety and depression symptoms.

There are numerous causes of anxiety, including physical and mental health problems, substance abuse, past or childhood trauma, life-changing events, and current life situations. The workplace can be an easily anxiety-provoking situation. Toxic culture, unhealthy pressures, conflict, excessive demands, and poor management are all sources of work-related stress and anxiety.

Depression

Depression is a common mental disorder characterised by low or depressed moods, lack of interest and pleasure, fatigue, and lack of energy. Depression impacts people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviour and has the potential risk of physiological and psychological repercussions.

If a workplace rivalry is toxic, negative, or destructive, the consequence on one or both sides can cause anxiety and depression. If a rivalry is making a person doubt their standard of work, question their place in the company, and feel very unsupported in their workplace, they could develop anxiety or depression, or if already present, worsen the state. Healthy competition in the workplace should boost mental health; however, when taken to an extreme in rivalry, which is often seen as bullying, it can have serious and long-lasting impacts.

Conclusion

The impact of a rivalry in the workplace is subjective to the individual. There are many factors that influence whether a rivalry is beneficial or destructive.

When a rivalry is internally processed as a positive relationship, it can be a great source of motivation. Healthy rivalries encourage people to put more effort into their work as they are seeking the satisfaction of a victory. As more effort is put into their work, they also increase their performance, completing work to a higher standard. A rival can also be used as a benchmark for progress, comparing yourself against your competitors to evaluate your position in your career and set future goals. Competition can make boring or stagnant work fun and exciting, which can lead to greater employee engagement, especially when founded on mutual respect. In this situation, a workplace rivalry is a positive aid for motivation and productivity in the workplace and career.

However, in extreme cases, rivalries are volatile, toxic, and destructive. When people are experiencing this negative rivalry, it can cause people to detach from the workplace. Rivalries are so focused on the competition they do not think about the good of their careers, the team, or the department. Workplace rivalry can have negative impacts on performance (Igbadoo, 2021), as the individual can often stop prioritising their own work and instead focus on their rival. Experience toxic relationships or bullying in the workplace, which can lead to decreased productivity as a result. This is likely due to the mental health repercussions rivalries can have: burnout, anxiety, and depression. People can feel anxiety when facing competition, resulting in absenteeism, low engagement, and satisfaction at work. People who experience burnout, anxiety, and depression are less likely to succeed at work until other control.

In conclusion, there is no one answer to how rivalries in the workplace impact motivation and productivity. The impact of rivalries is dependent on multiple factors, starting with whether the competitors view the rivalry as productive and beneficial or negative and destructive. Whether a rivalry increases or decreases motivation and productivity starts with the outlook of the individual.

See also

• Abusive supervision (Book chapter, 2024)
• Aggression in the workplace (Book chapter, 2010)
• Toxic workplace (Wikipedia)
• Competition fighting motivation (Book chapter, 2016)
• Underdog versus favourite motivation (Book chapter, 2024)
• Work breaks, well-being, and productivity (Book chapter, 2022)

References

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Atkinson, D. B., Jackson, J., & Williford, G. W. (2020). Rivalry, Uncertainty, and Militarized Compellent Threats. Journal of Global Security Studies, 6((1)). https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogz079

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Elizabeth, D. (2016). Exploring the characteristics and outcomes of workplace rivalries. Exploring the Characteristics and Outcomes of Workplace Rivalries; The California State University. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/zs25xb28v

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Szabó, Z. P., Diller, S. J., Czibor, A., Restás, P., Jonas, E., & Frey, D. (2023). “One of these things is not like the others”: The associations between dark triad personality traits, work attitudes, and work-related motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 205, 112098. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112098

External links

• Building a Motivational Workplace Culture: Reinventing Compensation (Ted talk, 2021)
• What is company culture and how do you develop it (Betterup, 2024)
• The Pros and Cons of Competition Among Employees (Harvard Business Review, 2017)
• When to Cooperate with Colleagues and When to Compete (Harvard Business Review, 2022)
• Rivalry in the workplace - a relational perspective (Relationships Foundation, 2020)
• Do You Have Burnout, or Are You Just Tired? (Optimal Performance Strategies, 2015)
• 7 strategies to help people recover from burnout (Medical News Today, 2024)
• work burnout and the effects on your mental health (headspace, 2024)
• Dark Triad (Psychology Today, 2024)
• Workplace Competition: Why We Compete at Work (Hogan, 2024)
• Stress in the workplace (APS, 2024)
• Work-related stress (Better Health Channel, 2024)
• Eustress vs. distress: What is the difference? (Medical News Today, 2024)
• Conflict or poor workplace relationships or interactions (Comcare, 2024)
• Anxiety disorders (World Health Organisation, 2023)