Peer Pressure at the Job: A Game You May Not Want to Play – Stoicess’ Secret

April 3, 2024

Peer Pressure at the Job: A Game You May Not Want to Play – Stoicess’ Secret.

The bosses are pushing for increased productivity, and you notice coworkers are beginning to implement shortcuts to perform faster.  You are uncomfortable with the shortcuts because they bypass company-required processes, but if you don’t follow the other lemmings, you may be out of a job for not meeting production.

On the other hand, if a bad mishap occurs by your hands, you know you’ll be the scapegoat and be given your walking papers immediately. And management won’t even care that the others started the shortcuts and you simply had to follow the norm just to keep up production.

Peer pressure. That influence others have on our behavior whether they explicitly demand we conform so we be accepted and stay in the group, or we implicitly require ourselves to conform so we can be noticed by the group and subsequently accepted. If you think hard, peer pressure has been acting on you since an early age. For example, a young girl cuts her hair short so she will be liked by others her age who wear their hair short. The young guy participates in sagging by the way he wears his jeans so the sagging group will accept him.

However, you know that peer pressure isn’t limited to any generation. Older folk wear the work dress that is common among their colleagues even when no dress code is stated. And when everyone else appears to be performing work by shortcutting processes, many join in as well to keep the bosses off their backs.

For you, you choose those you associate with based on whether they can make you a better person and assist you in your journey as God’s servant helping others. And for those attempting to use peer pressure whether directly or indirectly to make you conform to their bad habits, you stay on your path of doing right while looking for other ways to improve without sidestepping your morals.

Thus, those who pressure you to violate your set standards immediately lose your admiration and status as a trusted friend.

Now using My S-T-O-I-C STORYTELLING method:

(S) I’m feeling pressured to take shortcuts at work; what should I do?
(T) “There is a need, in my view, for someone as a standard against which our characters can measure themselves. Without a ruler to do it against you won’t make crooked straight.” Seneca
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” Book of Proverbs
(O) I will choose to associate with those who improve me.
(I) I realized I become one of them as I associate with them.
(C) I improved my ability to associate only with those who possess God’s wisdom so I can keep my morals strong.

Thank you for sharing your mind with me.

For your continued Success,

Hear MY Secret:

When feeling pressured by a peer, it’s a wake-up call to quickly veer.

I’m Lori Stith, The Stoicess
and I believe in You