Do Your Colleagues Resent You?

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

I have never had an issue worrying about how my colleagues have felt about me. Okay, perhaps I have worried a little bit in some offices I have worked in before. And, perhaps, I have been the one who didn’t like all of my colleagues.

In higher education, you often interview with dozens of people throughout the day-long interview. This gives a more firm idea of who you’ll work with.

But I know that in other industries, this isn’t always the case. You can find yourself with co-workers who are complete strangers for the first few months. And there can be a certain level of fear when working with strangers who may not like you or your work.

And this fear of working in a place where you can potentially fail is apparently very strong! Nihar Chhaya, in the Harvard Business Review’s Are You Worried That Your New Colleagues Resent You? addresses why companies need to know and understand this phenomenon:

“The dilemma of fitting in with new colleagues is a widespread problem. Half of all senior-level outside hires fail within the first 18 months, mainly due to an inability to acclimate to the company culture and often due to poor onboarding. And for the newly appointed leader, harmony with coworkers is so desired that as much as 58% of men and 74% of women would refuse a high-paying job if it meant not getting along with…