31-year-old employee suspects coworker is jealous of his recent promotion: ‘Instead of the “congratulations” I’d expect much like the others in our text group chat, she just says “You trying to take my job?”’

Is jealousy in the workplace dangerous? Is there anything we can do about it?Jealousy is a controversial emotion. We all feel it at some point, but none of us wants to admit we do. I believe jealousy, when it's ours, can help point us toward our desires and, if we play our cards right, transform into admiration.It's definitely much more fruitful to relate to the people we look up to through curiosity and compliments than through jealousy and bitterness. The chances of reaching our goals become much, much higher, and we even create an opportunity to be helped by those who are currently in a position we'd wish to be in.It's much easier to do something about jealousy when it's an emotion we're feeling, but when we suspect someone else feels jealous of us, things get a little more complicated.First of all, most likely we can't confront the person with what we think is going on, precisely because it's an emotion nobody wants to admit they're having, and even more so if it wasn't communicated directly to us.Jealousy coming from someone at our workplace, taken to its extreme, can be pervasive, but in everyday work life it's mostly harmless. We have to find a way to ignore it, since our c…

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