What Should You Do If You’ve Been Outperformed by a New Hire?

Your employees’ morale will be impacted when they know that a colleague is doing a better job than they are and earning more appreciation from the boss. This is doubly true if that colleague is a new hire, just appointed to a similar role. The motivation of new employees can be intense: They perform the job’s tasks with all the dedication and enthusiasm of someone who is beginning a new life, and if they are just joining the work-force, they are often ecstatic as they work toward their first paycheck. Other new hires may shine, not just through enthusiasm, but through what seems to be a natural talent for performing the job in a better and faster way. If a new employee is of this stripe, then a company veteran might have to struggle to compete.

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Look at this situation from the boss’s perspective. When a newly appointed employee produces better output than the older employee, the boss will surely be impressed. The boss may think, “I’ve got this great new employee—and at a lower salary, too!” In this kind of situation, the boss would be wise to hire more new talent at lower salaries to lower employee salary costs overall and generate more profits for the organization. This is how some of the veteran employees find themselves in a troubling situation. As new talent arrives in the workplace, veteran employees may feel threatened that they will lose their current position, much less obtain a pay raise on account of their seniority, status, and experience as a trusted long-term employee of the organization.

But there are certain specific steps experienced workers can take to lift their morale so and protect their position without falling prey to negative emotions. Here are some of them.

1. Keep working hard to enhance your knowledge and skills.

Working, just to finish the task, and not experimenting with new ideas for the advancement of knowledge, is a recipe for lagging behind the competition. The young blood of the new generation is boiling hard to claim their space in the workforce. You have to keep your knowledge and skills updated to survive in a world that is constantly evolving and changing. As an example, even if you know a computer-related web programming language, you should a new programming language that could become the future of your industry. If you do this, it will give you an edge over others. By contrast, remaining complacent and hesitating to learn or develop new skills will not help you hold on to your position. You would be wise to follow these six ways to never stop learning at work.

2. Keep yourself fit and healthy.

An old Roman saying, “A healthy mind in a healthy body,” has been proven in a recent study at King’s College London that showed lifelong exercise can lead to improved brain function in later life. If you want to know more about how exercise can foster a healthy body and healthy mind, peruse this research report from Harvard University. Exercise benefits your brain and can help you as you age to compete with the talent of the new generation.

3. Don’t feel envy of others’ success.

It is natural to feel a twinge of jealousy and insecurity when you witness the success of others who work with you in a similar role, but, according to Psychology Professor Richard Smith, envy that persists is corrosive and ugly and can ruin your life. You can’t possibly concentrate on your work if your jealousy consumes you. You may even start making mistakes in your work if you keep focusing on your anger towards those you envy, which will only further compromise your job.

There is a better way. Dealing with envy through the help of meditation has really worked for me. You can admit the envy is originating from somewhere inside you, right? Envy can be controlled by the awakening of Kundalini power, a spiritual energy that resides in a dormant state in the triangular sacrum bone at the base of the human spine. The awakening of this Kundalini energy is called self-realization. According to Shri Mataji, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, the manifestation of this kundalini energy is known as vibrations.

After the self-realization (awakening of Kundalini) these subtle vibrations can be felt in the form of a gentle, cool breeze coming out from the palms of hands and the fontanel region of the head. After self-realization, you simply need to grow this energy inside you by regular meditation. After the awakening of Kundalini when we are immersed in a state of meditation, our emotions are also brought into balance. All the weaknesses which hinder the expression of pure and sincere sentiments, such as jealousy, envy, greed, insecurity, etc. are first reduced and later completely eliminated when the joy of meditation is felt (source: apsahaj.org). To experience the awakening of Kundalini online you can go through the guided meditation session at the official website of Sahaja yoga. You could also read this nice piece of advice from Ron Ashkenas on the Forbes.com for what to do when you envy your colleague’s success.

4. Don’t panic.

Fear and anxiety often rear their ugly heads when you feel a sense of insecurity about losing your job. It’s extremely hard to concentrate at work when you are in the grips of fear and anxiety. Others probably have the same anxiety as you, but they don’t let you see it. Just think to yourself: “If other employees aren’t out here panicking, why should I open myself up to fear?” If you show your panic, then you might be perceived as weak to others (including your boss). The best way to overcome your fear is to work harder, so that you won’t question your own competency. The legendary baseball player Babe Ruth once said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”

5. Don’t doubt yourself.

Self-doubt becomes prevalent when you cannot do a certain task properly or you take more time to complete it than a colleague. Something that’s difficult for you might be like a child’s play for your colleague. Your boss used to be so proud of you, and you believe your boss thinks that you aren’t as good as the new hire. This truly ignites your self-doubt. Suddenly you lose your self-confidence when contemplating your true potential as compared to your colleague’s performance. If this is your situation, then you must read Christine M. Riordan’s article on Forbes.com about seven steps to conquering self-doubt. I hope it helps.

Conclusion

Don’t think that you are the only one facing this problem and the real challenge is to be known among those who were able to overcome this problem by finding the right solution at the right time than those who couldn’t really cope up.

Thank you Peoplehr.com for the guest post. Rajesh Bihani is a freelance writer and also the marketing manager and adviser for Peoplehr.com blog.