12/18/2024

Go Grudge-free

Use the “Weil method” to deal with insults

Work can often be stressful. It can be exhausting. And so, when you jam exhausted and stressed people into a room or with a three-day deadline, you can pretty much expect there is going to be some kind of carnage. People will snap and bite. They will hiss and sneer. There will be blood.

A large proportion of society will have some story of workplace conflict. It might be a small, passive-aggressive incident that makes Zoom meetings a bit frosty, or it might be a full-throated screaming match at last year's office party. But, if you work in a company any bigger than a handful, you will likely have some kind of drama to seethe about.

And this drags us down. Humans often tend towards a negativity bias, where we dwell on the negative elements of life far more than the positive ones. I could give you ten glowing pieces of praise about some work you did, but if I mentioned I thought it could have been a bit shorter, that’s the bit you'll remember. So, too, with arguments. We remember the harsh words and icy scowls. We relive the moment and obsess over the insults.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Big Think.