“That’s when the floodgates opened. Out came a torrent of pent-up anger, resentment, and mean-spirited comments.”

From the book, The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey.

When forced to do more with less at work everyone feels the pressure. According to recent studies, as stress levels rise workers become less cooperative and more competitive.  In yesterday’s New York Times’ article, Backlash: Women Bullying Women at Work, Mickey Meece discusses what women already know from experience — our sisters in the workplace can be bitchy. And downright mean at times.               

The article sights research by the Workplace Bullying Institute that found that 40% of bullies at work are women. Workplace bullying has an economic impact for employers. Bullying contributes to high turnover, increased absenteeism and costly stress-related health problems.

The solution to reducing toxic competition and backbiting at work is to help employees (whether male or female) understand how interdependent they really are. The parable of the Fighting Melons in my book illustrates this idea perfectly. The story is about a farmer dealing with a garden full of watermelons that were fighting and bickering.  The melons had grown so big and round that they had to compete for the space in the garden. The farmer devised a brilliant solution to stop the fighting. He asked the melons to feel what was on top of their head — the beginning of a vine. Then he instructed them to trace the vine all the way to its end. They found that at the other end of the vine was another melon. A melon very much like them.  Once they understood that they grew on the same vine, the melons resolved their differences and made room for each other.

This week follow your vine and see where it leads you.