Problems at work can make you feel lost and hopeless, but you don’t have to consent to mistreatment or give up your job. Find out what to do about all forms of conflict in the workplace from dealing with bad management, a problem coworker, or just toxic culture in the workplace.
Work is a big part of our lives. Most people have their first jobs when they are kids, and even after they are officially “retired”, have some form of job at least part time. If you work eight hours a day, one third of your days are spent at work. That’s a lot. Is it any wonder that problems in the workplace eat up a lot of emotional energy? You don’t have to be swallowed by workplace issues, though , because you can combat them. Join SpiritualBlossom to learn all about different workplace issues and simple things you can do to deal with them. You might change jobs, and you might change things at the workplace, but you don’t have to lose your mind.
What are Workplace Problems?
You would think that on the job, everyone would be so focused on doing the best job possible, that there would never be any problems. If you tell yourself that, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Problems in the workplace can be large or small, and they can be resolved easily or take a lot of time and effort. They can chip away at company productivity, and they can basically make people not want to come to work if they're too difficult to deal with.
The American Psychological Association reports that 19% of employees in the US say that their workplace is somewhat toxic and these people are three times more likely to suffer harm to mental health on the job. 1 in 5 respondents reported at last witnessing discrimination at the job and 1 in 10 respondents who worked in manual labor said somebody showed violence towards them on the job. 31% of respondents who worked in customer/client/patient services jobs reported being verbally abused at work. You can read more from that report here: APA poll reveals toxic workplaces, other significant workplace mental health challenges
What Workplace Stress Causes
Problems on the job causes stress, which can cause a number of things. First, it can make people dread coming into work. There are countless jokes on the Internet that talk about how life begins on the weekend because you don't have to go to work. All joking aside, this is an ugly reality for some people. Workplace stress is the cause of these negative feelings. Being in a stressful, toxic, or unfulfilling job causes low morale. People will wonder why they bother to come to such a job, and sometimes, they stop caring about the job so much, their performance drops.
Some jobs are so stressful, you lose sleep, which causes problems with concentration and performance, but it can make your blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure rise. It can make muscles tense and give you headaches, which further makes it harder to focus. It can make you lose hope for the future at your job, and exacerbate conditions like depression, anxiety, and emotional problems. Crystals help with some people’s anxiety and you can read about how to use them here: The Best Stones for Anxiety
A toxic work environment can make you stop paying attention to eating healthily. If you find yourself eating junk food loaded with sugars and caffeine to get an emotional boost because your job is stressing you out so much, you are not alone. Working long hours can keep people eating out of fast-food bags, and staying on the go to get to a job that keeps you for unreasonable hours will keep you from doing things you enjoy. You won’t have as much time or as much motivation to exercise, and your social life can suffer. A toxic job won’t kill you today, but it can take years off your life and make the years you do live stressful.
Bad Bosses
One of the main reasons people quit jobs is because of their boss. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that 84% of people said managers trained poorly in people management create unnecessary stress. Over half of the respondents said their own job performance would improve if some of the managers at their job were trained to manage people better. Read more about that here: Survey: 84 Percent of U.S. Workers Blame Bad Managers for Creating Unnecessary Stress (shrm.org)
Bad bosses can make or break employees. There are countless things managers need to excel at, but three main things that make bosses bad are micromanaging, being unsupportive, or taking favorites.
Micromanagers
Some have a special sense of self-importance that means that they feel the need to breathe down the necks of their employees so that they can justify their title as a manager. Some of them even want to dictate the extracurricular activities that you participate in outside of work because they say the company has an image to protect. The best way to handle a micromanager is to flat out ask them what it is that they disapprove of and what they prefer that you do instead. Sometimes if they feel like they have input they'll shut up and leave you alone. Other times you can find tasks to keep them busy while you get your job done. Ask them to shop for office supplies or attend to an issue that needs their attention. Sagittarians don't like to be micromanaged, and you can read about that zodiac sign here: Sagittarius Traits and Love Compatibility
Unsupportive Managers
On the other end of the spectrum are managers that don't want to be bothered with supporting their employees. Sometimes they're overwhelmed and they have too much work to do, other times they're too lazy to do their job. The best way to get support from a manager who is overwhelmed is to encourage them to delegate tasks. That will free them up to help their employees. Managers who don't care to help their employees, however, need to be turned into higher management. Chances are they're in the wrong job and need to be replaced.
Favoritism
To be fair, we all have our favorite people. However, at work, supervisors don't have any business catering to favorites and neglecting their other employees. If you find yourself being ignored by an employer who does not favor you, request a meeting with them. Ask them what they feel your greatest strengths as an employee are and how they feel you can better use those strengths to support the team. Sometimes that's all it takes to get your boss to favor you! Each of the Zodiac signs have special leadership qualities, and you can read about own here: The Zodiac Signs as Leaders
Toxic Work Culture
An actual toxic workplace can be more difficult to combat than one bad supervisor. A bad supervisor can sometimes be reasoned with, or replaced, however if the entire workplace is toxic it's not so easy to deal with. You can still try. If you are overworked, not compensated well, or abused at work, read on to find out what you can do about it.
Overwork
Most places have labor laws set in place that decide how many hours employees are required to work. A lot of employers will say that they have mandatory overtime, however the place where you live may have a law saying that it is illegal. You may be able to give your employer a letter from your doctor saying that you are not allowed to work more than a certain amount of hours. You may be able to transfer to another department where they don't make you work as hard. Find out your company's policies and your state laws to decide how you will combat being overworked.
Inadequate Compensation
We would all love to make more money. Sometimes you can negotiate a raise tactfully and everybody will feel good about it. The longer you have been at a job, the better position you are in to negotiate a raise. You may have to wait until your annual performance evaluation to ask. One way to negotiate a raise at the job is to give them notice that you have been hired at another company for better pay. If they ask you to stay, simply tell them that you are happy to stay if they will match the wage that the other employer has offered you. Deciding to leave a job can be a tough decision, but you can learn how to make tough decisions here: Making Hard Decisions
Abuse
Abuse at a job should never be tolerated. Your first step after being abused at work is to speak with the person who has done so and tell them that that is not acceptable and that you will not stand for it ever again. You should still report it. Make sure to have it in writing about what happened in case it happens again. Most employers have a policy and procedure and want a paper trail started just in case they have to terminate someone for their behavior. Abuse on the job is intolerable, and nobody should allow it.
Bad Coworkers
Managers and toxic situations aren't the only thing that can go wrong at work. You might just be stuck with some lousy teammates. Some people do nothing but complain at work and nobody wants to hear that. Some people are lazy and won't do their job, and then some people are so competitive that they fight with their own teammates instead of working together to make the company the best it can be.
Chronic Complainers
You know the type. Some people are never happy. They are constantly complaining, find the worst in every situation, and can never solve a problem under any circumstances. Some chronic complainers are actually the ones who cause all of the problems. There are two different ways to deal with that. One, you can just ignore them or tell them that you don't have time to talk because you're busy. If you tell them that often enough, they will get the hint and find someone else to complain to. Secondly, you can tell them to stop complaining because you just don't want to hear it. Make sure to keep your psychic shields up around negative people no matter what and you can read about how to do that here: Magic for Self-Defense
Lazy Team Members
Workplaces are supposed to be team environments, but some people are not team players. Some people don't want to play, also known as work, on a team at all. They might complain that they would rather be home playing video games or reading. When they are on the company's payroll, they are supposed to be doing their job. Chances are you and other people are waiting on them to do their share so that you can complete your work. If they're not doing their job, don't do their work for them. Remind them to do their part once, and if they won't do it report it to their supervisor. Lazy team members are like horrible managers. They're probably in the wrong job and they can be replaced by somebody who does want to be there.
Team Competition
Some people live to work. They take a lot of pride in the job that they do, and they want to constantly improve themselves. Really great people who are constantly improving themselves will go out of their way to bring other people up to their level. They will teach, coach, and work alongside people to make sure that the whole team thrives. Not everybody is like that. Some people want to be the center of attention and get the credit for all of the good work. They will do things to compromise other people's work. The way to combat this is to call them out when you catch them doing it and do it in front of other people. Someone who's competitive at work will care about their reputation and they won't want to be embarrassed by being called out. Capricorns work hard to climb the career ladder and you can read about that Zodiac sign here: Capricorn Zodiac Traits and Love Compatibility
Can I Keep My Job?
Just because you're dissatisfied with something going on at your job doesn't mean that you have to quit. There will be problems at any job. It's just a question of whether you feel like it's worth it to stay where you are and deal with the problems that are there or go someplace else and deal with other problems. When you've done all you can to try to solve problems, and it is compromising your physical, mental, or emotional health, it's ok to find a different job. When you love your job, and you feel like you can combat the problems, it's ok to stay and work on and work things out. Only you can decide whether to stay or leave.
Some of your coworkers might be awful, your boss might be useless, and you might worry you will be stuck in a miserable work situation until the day you die- but that doesn’t have to happen. You can solve problems, make your work site a better place, and at the same time, restore your peace and sanity at work. Some problems are easily solved, but not all of them are. After all, other people do have a lot of control at work. There will come a time when you have to move on to a different job, but you might not have to. Have faith in yourself. You are a highly talented individual and a valuable member of your team at work. You can make positive changes that benefit everyone. Yes, you can!
You can read all the articles you want to and still be stumped about a problem in the workplace. Don’t worry. Our psychics are available all the time to help, so get a reading started today: Online Psychic Readings
About the Author: Lady Saoirse has studied magic and lore for most of her life but started walking her own Magical Path after being spiritually reborn in the desert. Today she is a High Priestess for The Temple of the Goddess, she is a psychic advisor and spiritual counselor, she shares her gifts as a Psychic and Content Writer for Mysticsense and SpiritualBlossom, and she writes for The Green Egg Magazine and PaganPages.Org emag.
