Putting Compassion to Work: Compassion as a Tool for Navigating Challenging Workplace Relationships

We have all likely had our share of interacting with people in the workplace who exhibit behaviors that bother us—the free-rider, the narcissist, the Machiavellian, the person who never misses an opportunity to hit reply all, or the person whom, despite your best efforts, is continually unsatisfied with your work. While we could continue this list, we are certain that you can bring at least one person to mind whose behavior has been, or perhaps is, a source of suffering for you at work. Given that we spend the majority of our time at work (somewhere around ~ 90,000 hours over the course of our lives), often interacting with people whose behaviors do not match our preferences, it is surprising how poorly equipped we are to skillfully navigate these challenging interpersonal situations. Relatedly, we are often taken aback, when this person engages in this same behavior, yet again. Inevitably, our experiences with this person often spill over to our lives outside of work (e.g., impacting mood, sleep, conversation, and otherwise just taking up time and energy that could be spent elsewhere). This is exhausting. …