{
  "title": "A colleague’s success: should managers discourage envy?",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2025-06-28",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "A promotion or a prestigious assignment does not produce collective satisfaction alone. Envy deserves a more precise reading than a judgement about employees’ attitudes.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Emotional Intelligence",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Niels van de Ven, Marcel Zeelenberg and Rik Pieters (2009, Emotion) distinguish two experiences of envy: one directed towards improving one’s own position, the other towards bringing down the person who holds the advantage."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The comparison mechanism",
      "point": "Leon Festinger (1954, Human Relations) proposes a theoretical framework in which people evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparing themselves with others, particularly when objective reference points are unavailable."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The premature conclusion",
      "point": "One might conclude that managers should stimulate “good envy” to increase effort."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What the evidence cannot promise",
      "point": "The distinction between forms of envy is neither an individual diagnosis nor an evaluation of a company’s promotion system."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Zurich",
      "point": "In a Zurich team, SHR can propose testing an individual conversation about decision criteria and opportunities for progression when responsibility is next assigned."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Pieters",
      "year": "2009",
      "source": "Emotion"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Festinger",
      "year": "1954",
      "source": "Human Relations"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 411,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-Training-Emotional-Intelligence-Zurich-reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/reussite-collegue-envie-comparaison-zurich-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation-intelligence-emotionnelle-zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}