Frustration in workplace

Frustration in workplace can occur in many different situations and is never a pleasant feeling to deal with. It is created usually when different people with different interests have to cooperate. Group dynamics and human factors are in most cases the reason why some people feel frustrated. Additionally, frustration can appear when someone expected different things than they believe they deserve or that they were promised. I have dealt with frustration in workplaces many times. In order to overcome the obstacle of frustration, in my opinion, someone needs to first realise the root cause of this feeling, who or what is causing the frustration and then act in order to solve the issue.

At that point, I would like to clarify that frustration is not always the fault of the others, but can start from ourselves. This is why, in my opinion, if someone feels frustrated, they need to address the root cause of this feeling first and then start dealing with other people and their behaviour.

Some of the students’ frustration stories, describe an internship job. An internship is a short-term job and the interns are usually students. In some cases, students are not very respected in the workplace and the co-workers might perceive them as inexperienced, young, and people that have no authority or knowledge, so they sometimes ignore them, they do not share information, or they do not care to use them for the good of the company- they usually use them for the easy, boring tasks that they are not willing to do themselves. It is easy, being an outsider or a temporary employee, to experience that you do not belong in a team and you are not welcome there. So, the duration of your working at the specific position can lead to people’s negative reactions towards you. When you are a temp or an outsider, you have to be prepared that you are a new part of an organisation, and you need time to establish your position.

Frustration at workplace can occur when someone feels threaten by your presence in the company or organisation in general. People might use different techniques, known as domination techniques (The centre for Gender Equality, 2001). According to the same source, this has to do with power allocation in an organisation which is not even, so people use those techniques to dominate and be more powerful against others.

Another workplace frustration example can be when colleagues choose to withhold information and refuse to help others when they start working, and as a result, people make mistakes, maybe they do not understand the purpose of the tasks they had been asked to perform and feel stupid and inadequate. A new person in a group workplace is very likely to cause frustration to the existing personnel without intention and they may react by causing frustration to that person. And that is very interesting. People act in a “hostile” manner or they use their power against others when they are used to dominating and being powerful OR when they feel that this is the only way to survive against you. There are different ways to deal with frustration- the negative thing was that I did not know them then and I reacted by instinct.

Dealing with frustration is the second step after realising why you feel frustrated and who or what causes this frustration. According to a Forbes magazine article, published on 15^th of April, 2014, when feeling frustrated at work, you cannot deal with it just by being positive. You have to act and make yourself. And here comes the importance of self- advocacy skill. But you have to use and practise this wisely and always consider the people and the situation and what can help you be clear about your position without cancelling the power or the position of other and without embarrassing other people. You can choose to make yourself clear, recognise the power game and answer to it with a suitable for the case manner. For instance, if someone withholds information from you and you realise that, then you can ask for more information on the subject directly, ask more questions, and make the other feel important but obligated to give you the information at the same time. Also, try to use the informal and the formal networks in the organisation and move around by making yourself visible and necessary. (The centre for Gender Equality, 2001)

A solution to this is to be cooperative, even when the rest are not, to always add value to their position in order not to feel threatened , to always consult them, even if you know the answers and of course to try to learn from them by observing – not only asking. After a while, the new person might become a part of the team and people might start listening to  ideas and suggestions, and appreciate the intention to work for the best interest of the company AND for the best interest of the department.

Even the most experienced people can feel frustrated in the workplace. Being frustrated makes people miserable and less productive. My suggestion is, as taught at this course, to always do a stakeholder analysis and identify the different interests of the different groups, identify the informal leaders, the networks and then justify why people act and react the way they do. At the same time, you need to practise the skill of self- advocacy and make yourself visible and heard without being against the interest of others and without embarrassing more powerful (hierarchically or informally) people. In order to “survive” the workplace, you have to never forget the purpose of you being at the specific position, the reasons people act the way they do and of course, that sometimes in order to respond to power games, you have to know the power games, identify them correctly and address them with the suitable for the case manner. In other words, you have to know how to play your own power games, and that comes from practice.

References

1.    Forbes 2014, Feeling Frustrated? How to stand up for what you need at work. Available from <http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2014/04/15/feeling-frustrated-how-to-stand-up-for-what-you-need-at-work/#2715e4857a0b210aaf025ae7> [15 April 2014]

2.    The Centre for Gender Equality, Norway (April 2001). "Domination techniques: what they are and how to combat them" (pdf). p. 12. Retrieved 2010-01-29