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Don't Bring It to Work

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Don't Bring It to Work

Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success

Jossey-Bass,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

You carry your family history around, but you don’t have to take your baggage to work.


Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

It’s your first day on your new job, and you’re meeting your new colleagues. You shake hands, make eye contact and offer a pleasant smile. But for some reason, you instinctively don’t like one or two people; they make you uncomfortable. How is it possible to judge people whose names you don’t even know? Therapist and relationship expert Sylvia Lafair believes that the seeds of workplace conflict are rooted in your family background. She posits that the behaviors modeled in your childhood and your relationship with your family members create subliminal expectations that you subconsciously project onto others, including strangers. Lafair suggests that understanding your upbringing is the linchpin to avoiding and resolving workplace conflict. The author offers profound, detailed insight into the psychological dynamics that govern interpersonal relationships. Recognizing your family patterns is just the first step, though; the real work lies in your willingness to change your behavior. Though Lafair’s approach may not resonate with everyone, getAbstract recommends her book to managers and employees who wish to avoid perpetuating destructive cycles of workplace conflict.

Summary

A Common Affliction

There’s no doubt that conflict in the workplace is a major issue. Studies show that executives devote a significant portion of their work week to dealing with personality conflicts among staffers. At the same time, workers are spending more money treating stress-related health issues linked to dysfunctional work environments. The American Management Association found that employees spend one-quarter of their time, about two hours a day, engaged in petty disagreements with co-workers.

Difficult economic conditions, technology that depersonalizes communication and the influx of a new generation of workers with different attitudes all contribute to increased negativity and hostility in the workplace. But ultimately, job conflicts trace back to the behavioral patterns and psychological influences that people experience in their upbringing. Even in relatively healthy families, members take on certain “invisible roles,” such as the “good girl,” the “smart one” or the “lazy one.” People attain a certain level of comfort with their familial roles and carry those patterns – particularly the destructive ones – into the workplace. For example, former Tyco...

About the Author

Sylvia Lafair, a former family therapist, is president of Creative Energy Options, Inc., a consulting firm that addresses conflict resolution and leadership issues.


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