Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T03:12:03.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

33 - Envy and Jealousy

The Role of Intrasexual Competition in the Workplace

from Part V - Discrete Emotions at Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2020

By
Abraham P. Buunk ,
Pieternel Dijkstra ,
Karlijn Massar ,
Rosario Zurriaga  and
Pilar González-Navarro
Edited by
Liu-Qin Yang ,
Russell Cropanzano ,
Catherine S. Daus  and
Vicente Martínez-Tur
Liu-Qin Yang
Affiliation:
Portland State University
Russell Cropanzano
Affiliation:
University of Colorado
Catherine S. Daus
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Vicente Martínez-Tur
Affiliation:
Universitat de València, Spain
Get access

Summary

Over the past decades it has become manifest that jealousy and envy may be quite prevalent within organizations (see e.g. Dogan & Vecchio, 2001; Smith, Merlone, & Duffy, 2017). Although the term “jealousy” is often used as more or less synonymous to “envy,” from a theoretical point of view jealousy and envy are evoked by different stimuli. Workplace jealousy refers to the negative thoughts and emotions that result from the interference by a coworker within a valued relationship at work, and may, for instance, be evoked when someone feels that his or her superior pays attention to a new colleague at the expense of the attention paid to him or her. In essence, workplace jealousy is triadic in that it involves three individuals: the focal employee, the rival, and the valued target person. In contrast, workplace envy is defined essentially in dyadic terms, and refers to the negative thoughts and emotions that result from the perception that a coworker has obtained outcomes or has capacities that one strongly desires (Vecchio, 2000). As noted by Sterling and Labianca (2015) “Envy is at its most basic level the pain felt at another’s good fortune” (p. 297; see also Tai, Narayanan, & McAllister, 2012). According to Parrott and Smith (1993), envy is characterized more by feelings of inferiority, longing, and resentment, whereas jealousy is characterized more by fear of loss, distrust, anxiety, and anger.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Workplace Affect , pp. 440 - 451
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andiappan, M. (2017). Ties that bind: A tripartite model of jealousy, envy and fear. Academy of Management Proceedings, 1, https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2017.16652abstractGoogle Scholar
Baenninger, M. A., Baenninger, R., & Houle, D. (1993). Attractiveness, attentiveness, and perceived male shortage: Their influence on perceptions of other females. Ethology and Sociobiology, 14, 293–304.Google Scholar
Balliet, D., & Van Lange, P. A. M. (2013). Trust, conflict, and cooperation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 1090–1112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bedeian, A. G. (1995). Workplace envy. Organizational Dynamics, 23, 49–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Betzig, L. (1986). Despotism and differential reproduction: A Darwinian view of history. New York, NY: Aldine.Google Scholar
Bleske-Rechek, A., & Lighthall, M. (2010). Attractiveness and rivalry in women’s friendships with women. Human Nature, 21, 82–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, A., Webster, G. D., & Mahaffey, A. L. (2011). The big, the rich, and the powerful: Physical, financial, and social dimensions of dominance in mating and attraction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 365–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buunk, A. P., Aan ’t Goor, J., & Castro Solano, A. (2010). Intrasexual competition at work: Sex differences in the jealousy-evoking effect of rival characteristics in work settings. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 671–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buunk, A. P., Castro Solano, A., Zurriaga, R., & Gonzalez, P. (2011). Gender differences in the jealousy-evoking nature of rival characteristics. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 323–439.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2012). The social animal within organizations. In Roberts, S. C. (Ed.), Applied evolutionary psychology (pp. 36–51). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., & Fisher, M. (2009). Individual differences in intrasexual competition. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 7, 37–48.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., & Gibbons, F. X. (2006). Social comparison orientation: A new perspective on those who do and those who don’t compare with others. In Guimond, S (Ed.), Social comparison and social psychology: Understanding cognition, intergroup relations and culture (pp. 15–33). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., Pollet, T. V., Dijkstra, P. & Massar, K. (2011). Intrasexual competition within organizations. In Saad, G (Ed.), Evolutionary psychology in the business sciences (pp. 41–70). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., & Van der Laan, V. (2002). Do women need female role models? Subjective social status and the effects of same-sex and opposite sex comparisons. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 15, 129–155.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., & Ybema, J. F. (1997). Social comparisons and occupational stress: The identifaction-contrast model. In Buunk, A. P. & Gibbons, F. X. (Eds.), Health, coping and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 359–388). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., Zurriaga, R., González-Navarro, P., & Monzani, L. (2016). Attractive rivals may undermine the expectation of career advancement and enhance jealousy: An experimental study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25, 798–803.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., Zurriaga, R., & Peiró, J. M. (2010). Social comparison as a predictor of changes in burnout among nurses. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 2, 181–194.Google Scholar
Buunk, A. P., Zurriaga, R., Peiró, J. M., Nauta, A., & Gosalvez, I. (2005). Social comparisons at work as related to a cooperative social climate and to individual differences in social comparison orientation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 61–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, A. (2002). A mind of her own: The evolutionary psychology of women. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, A. (2004). Female competition: Causes, constraints, content, and contexts. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 16–26.Google Scholar
Cashdan, E. (1998). Are men more competitive than women? British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 213–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen-Charash, Y., & Mueller, J. (2007). Does perceived unfairness exacerbate or mitigate interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors related to envy? Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 666–680.Google Scholar
Confer, J. C., Easton, J. A., Fleischman, D. S., Goetz, C. D., Lewis, D. M., Perilloux, C., & Buss, D. M. (2010). Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions, prospects, and limitations. American Psychologist, 65, 110.Google Scholar
Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. London, UK: John Murray.Google Scholar
De Cremer, D., & Van Knippenberg, D. (2004). Leader self-sacrifice and leadership effectiveness: The moderating role of leader self-confidence. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 95, 140–155.Google Scholar
Dijkstra, P., Barelds, D. P., & Groothof, H. A. (2013). Jealousy in response to online and offline infidelity: The role of sex and sexual orientation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 54(4), 328–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dijkstra, P., & Buunk, A. P. (1998). Jealousy as a function of rival characteristics: An evolutionary perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1158–1166.Google Scholar
Do, M. H., & Minbashian, A. (2014). A meta-analytic examination of the effects of the agentic and affiliative aspects of extraversion on leadership outcomes. Leadership Quarterly, 25, 1040–1053.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dogan, K., & Vecchio, R. P. (2001). Managing envy and jealousy in the workplace. Compensation & Benefits Review, 33, 57–64.Google Scholar
Duffy, M. K., Shaw, J. D., & Schaubroeck, J. M. (2008). Envy in organizational life. In Smith, R. H. (Ed.), Envy: Theory and research (pp. 167–189). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Feldman, N. S., & Ruble, D. N. (1981). Social comparison strategies: Dimensions offered and options taken. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7, 11–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, P., Kastenmüller, A., Frey, D., & Peus, C. (2009). Social comparison and information transmission in the work context. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 42–61.Google Scholar
Försterling, F., Preikschas, S., & Agthe, M. (2007). Ability, luck, and looks: An evolutionary look at achievement ascriptions and the sexual attribution bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 775–788.Google Scholar
Geary, D. C. (1998). Male, female: The evolution of human sex differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Geary, D. C. (2010). Competing for mates. In Geary, D. C. (Ed.), Male, female: The evolution of human sex differences (2nd edition, pp. 213–245). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Grosser, T. J., Lopez-Kidwell, V., & Labianca, G. (2010). A social network analysis of positive and negative gossip in organizational life. Group & Organization Management, 35, 177–212.Google Scholar
Grosser, T. J., Lopez-Kidwell, V., Labianca, G. J., & Ellwardt, L. (2012). Hearing it through the grapevine: Positive and negative workplace gossip. Organizational Dynamics, 41, 52–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, C., & Darby, R. (2010). Jealousy in adulthood. In Hart, S & Legerstee, M (Eds.), Handbook of jealousy: Theory, research and multidisciplinary approaches (pp. 547–571). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hill, S. E., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Envy and positional bias in the evolutionary psychology of management. Managerial and Decision Economics, 27, 131–143.Google Scholar
Hoogland, C. E., Thielke, S., & Smith, R. H. (2017). Envy as an evolving episode. In Smith, R. H., Merlone, U, & Duffy, M. K. (Eds.), Envy at work and in organizations: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 111–142). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hopcroft, R. L. (2006). Sex, status, and reproductive success in the contemporary United States. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 104–120.Google Scholar
Kletner, D., Haift, J., & Shiota, M. N. (2006). Social functions and the evolution of emotions. In Schaller, M. A., Simpson, J. A., & Kenrick, D. T. (Eds.), Evolution and social psychology (pp. 115–142). New York, NY: Psychology.Google Scholar
Iredale, W., Van Vugt., M., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2008). Showing off in humans: Male generosity as mate signal. Evolutionary Psychology, 6, 386–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jin, S. V., & Muqaddam, A. (2018). “Narcissism 2.0! Would narcissists follow fellow narcissists on Instagram?” The mediating effects of narcissists’ personality similarity and envy, and the moderating effects of popularity. Computers in Human Behavior, 81, 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilduff, G. J., Galinsky, A. D., Gallo, E., & Reade, J. J. (2016). Whatever it takes to win: Rivalry increases unethical behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 59, 1508–1534.Google Scholar
Kim, E., & Glomb, T. M. (2014). Victimization of high performers: The roles of envy and work group identification. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99, 619–634.Google Scholar
Luxen, M. F., & Van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2006). Facial attractiveness, sexual selection, and personnel selection: When evolved preferences matter. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 241–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melia, J. L., & Becerril, M. (2007). Psychosocial sources of stress and burnout in the construction sector: A structural equation model. Psicothema, 19, 679–686.Google ScholarPubMed
Miller, C. T. (1984). Self-schemas, gender, and social comparison: A clarification of the related attributes hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1222–1229.Google Scholar
Nicholson, N. (1998). How hardwired is human behavior? Harvard Business Review, 76, 134–147.Google Scholar
Parrott, W. G. (1991). The emotional experiences of envy and jealousy. In Salovey, P (Ed.), The psychology of jealousy and envy (pp. 3–28). New York, NY: Guilford.Google Scholar
Parrott, W. G., & Smith, R. H. (1993). Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 906–920.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quinn, T. J., & Wilson, B. R. (1989). Somatotype and Type A behavior in college-age adults. Psychological Reports, 65, 15–18.Google Scholar
Saad, G., & Gill, T. (2001). Sex differences in the ultimatum game: An evolutionary psychology perspective. Journal of Bioeconomics, 3, 171–193.Google Scholar
Schmitt, B. D. (1988). Social comparison in romantic jealousy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 374–387.Google Scholar
Schuster, B. (1996). Rejection, exclusion, and harassment at work and in schools: An integration of results from research on mobbing, bullying, and peer rejection. European Psychologist, 1, 293–317.Google Scholar
Shu, C. Y., & Lazatkhan, J. (2017). Effect of leader–member exchange on employee envy and work behavior moderated by self-esteem and neuroticism. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 33, 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999). Social dominance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, R. H., Merlone, U., & Duffy, M. K. (Eds.) (2017). Envy at work and in organizations: Research, theory, and applications. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Steil, J. M., & Hay, J. L. (1997). Social comparison in the workplace: A study of 60 dual-career couples. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 427–438.Google Scholar
Sterling, C. M., & Labianca, G. (2015). Costly comparisons: Managing envy in the workplace. Organizational Dynamics, 44, 296–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stulp, G., Buunk, A. P., Verhulst, S., & Pollet, T. V. (2013). Tall claims? Sense and nonsense about the importance of height of US presidents. Leadership Quarterly, 24, 159–171.Google Scholar
Suls, J., Gaes, G., & Gastorf, J. W. (1979). Evaluating a sex-related ability: Comparison with same-, opposite-, and combined-sex norms. Journal of Research in Personality, 13, 294–304.Google Scholar
Tai, K., Narayanan, J., & McAllister, D. J. (2012). Envy as pain: Rethinking the nature of envy and its implications for employees and organizations. Academy of Management Review, 37, 107–129.Google Scholar
Tesser, A., & Campbell, J. (1980). Self-definition: The impact of the relative performance and similarity of others. Social Psychology Quarterly, 43, 341–347.Google Scholar
Thompson, G., Buch, R., and Glasø, L. (2018). Follower jealousy at work: A test of Vecchio’s model of antecedents and consequences of jealousy. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 152, 60–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Ven, N., Zeelenberg, M., & Pieters, R. (2009). Leveling up and down: The experiences of benign and malicious envy. Emotion, 9, 419–429.Google Scholar
Van Dick, R., & Wagner, W. (2001). Stress and strain in teaching: A structural equation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 243–259.Google Scholar
Van Vugt, M., Roberts, G., & Hardy, C. (2007). Competitive altruism: Development of reputation-based cooperation in groups. In Dunbar, R. I. M. & Barrett, L (Eds.), Handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 531–540). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Vecchio, R. P. (2000). Negative emotions in the workplace: Employee jealousy and envy. International Journal of Stress Management, 7, 161–179.Google Scholar
Wang, Y., & Sung, W. (2016). Predictors of organizational citizenship behavior: Ethical leadership and workplace jealousy. Journal of Business Ethics, 135, 117–128.Google Scholar
Wert, S. R., & Salovey, P. (2004). A social comparison account of gossip. Review of General Psychology, 8, 122–137.Google Scholar
Yasin, M. (2018). Empirical examination of theoretical model of workplace envy: Evidences from Jordan. Management Research Review, 41, 1438–1459.Google Scholar
Zurriaga, R., González-Navarro, P., Buunk, A. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2018). Jealousy at work: The role of rivals’ characteristics. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 59, 443–450.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×