National and international studies show that workplace bullying remains a problem.
Regardless of your political affiliation, one can see how the bullying temperament of the White House has increased the number of hate crimes and aggressive behavior across the country. Therefore, if you are fortunate enough to work in a civil work environment, be thankful for respectful colleagues.
Joan was relieved to get a new job at the Public Relations firm across town. Her prior job had a boss whose temperament made the Grinch Who Stole Christmas look like a lullaby. Joan was unhappy at her job; engaged in some poor diet choices, even fell back into some binge drinking habits. When she landed the job across town, she jumped at the chance to get away, even with a pay cut. Though she was working harder, she was respected and appreciated. She didn’t realize how much she needed to change jobs until she called back to her office buddy, who spent 20 minutes weeping about being berated in an open staff meeting. Joan felt sorry for her friend and felt thankful that she had good colleagues in her new work environment. For the first time in four years, she was actually excited about the holiday season.
Joan was indeed fortunate; she found relief in leaving a toxic workspace. Typically a person spends more time with workplace colleagues than friends, family, and pets. The healthy work relationships should not be taken for granted. As we come into the holiday season, consider nice ways to thank good colleagues. Holiday cards, small candy treats, and some decorations can make the office cheery. If your office mates are close, consider going out for lunch together, or perhaps a secret Santa. Good cheer at the office makes for solid productivity.
So often we consider how bad the boss is, or how one feels embarrassed at an aggressive meeting. However, if you are in a good office space, with respectful colleagues, don’t wait to leave the job to appreciate how good you have it now. If you have a civil workplace, show your colleagues that you appreciate them… and not just at the holidays, but all year ’round.
Read more posts by Leah Hollis, Ed.D. here. Leah is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire.
JenningsWire.com is created by National Publicity Firm, Annie Jennings PR that offers their prestigious pay for performance publicity model where clients can select the publicity path that results in the most power, credibility and thought leadership for them in the areas of TV, print and online.