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Fairness is a concept we learn in Childhood in relation to things we see others receive.

What exactly is fair? Have you ever tried to explore this concept? A 4-year-old child can explain it best, when they see another child with a toy they don’t have, they immediately say, “that’s not fair, he has a new toy.”  As we mature we realize that someone else’s good fortune does not necessarily mean we have been slighted.  Yet in every office, there are always those who resort to this mentality as device for sowing discord. In reality this is just a way of cloaking envy, and that is how it should be handled.

Very often though, I see managers, supervisor’s even executives making decisions specifically to avoid this issue. Let’s not do too much for this department or this individual because others will say it isn’t fair. It doesn’t matter how hard that person or department has worked; the reward simply has to be diluted to satisfy those who did nothing and who will complain regardless.

If there were one thing I wish manager could identify and squelch on the spot, it’s jealousy in the workplace. Has that ever benefited a company? Name a single instance where jealousy, envy or finger pointing has increased productivity? In fact it only serves to slow productivity and decrease morale. This type of gossip runs rampant in offices, and it seems to get planted deep and never truly go away.

When something new is accomplished opinions are formed quickly. Companies go out of their way to “brand” a product early on as the best, most efficient, most attractive, etc. Why? Because: that first impression will dictate buying habits, product selection and their recommendation to others. The reverse is also true, how many times have you experienced poor service and told people about it?

Let’s take that concept a step further in the workplace. When decisions are made that will change the way a business runs, you be assured someone will want to point fingers. Especially if they feel envious of another person or group who gains from the change.  This sounds so simple and petty but it pervades modern office culture to no end.

You have heard of the ripple effect; drop a pebble in a pool of water and the concentric circles form, rippling outward, all from the one pebble in the middle. Now pretend that pebble is a new laser printer or computer. Just give one person a new device on their desk and the ripples will begin.

First, others will notice it and admire how efficient, fast, impressive or clean the new system is. Then they will go back to their desk, look at their old computer, or the empty space where one might sit. Within minutes or hours they wonder why they did not get the new item. “That’s not fair!” they will think. I do more work; have waited longer, need more than them and on it goes. Their envy masquerades itself as the voice of justice in the office. “How dare the other person get something before me—“I have been cheated and robbed!”

How did someone else’s gain take anything way from someone else? IT didn’t, yet we convince ourselves that we are truly being swindled and begin the smear campaign against the innocent recipient of the latest gadget. Why? Because: it wasn’t given to us instead. If it had been, then the rules wouldn’t apply.

In the Bible there is a story about a farmer who hired workers to work in his field on a hot day. He hired men throughout the day and when the sun had set, it was time to pay them. He gave them all the same wage. Some had only worked an hour and others all day. The men who worked all day complained, “That’s not fair” they said, we worked all day and they got paid the same as us. The landowner simply asked if they had not been paid according to the agreement, and they replied yes. “Why then are you angry over my generosity?” He replied.

Of all the Bible stories I have read, this one shows how little things have changed over the centuries. Mankind has a self-centered sense of fairness, which is his way of hiding his envy. If we could just call it what it is and moves on, we would be a lot happier.

Perhaps then we could use the interest in the rewards of others as a motivational tool. Anyone wanting a promotion, new computer better office need only look at how others are rewarded. Not for the sake of tearing them down, but in the spirit of emulating their example.

I realize not everyone gets rewarded fairly, and often there are people who take advantage of situations and cheat others. However; the focus of our goals should not be set by the achievements of others, they should be set by our motivation and dreams.

When someone moves up, the best thing to say about him or her is, “congratulations, you deserve it”.

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