The results of a survey on employees' psychological state published by xinhuanet.com in July showed that 47.37 percent of companies' employees occasionally feel jealous of other colleagues and 31.58 percent always feel that way. Only 21.05 percent of the respondents said they were free of such feelings. The happiness quotient of employees who feel jealous is obviously lower than those that don't, says an article in Zhujiang Evening News. Excerpts:

It may seem surprising, but the survey reflects reality. "Jealousy" could be the cause of feeling deprived or deliberately ignored. Such feelings are closely related to a person's sense of individual rights and career development such as income gap, promotion and "proper" evaluation.

The promotion or pay rise that employees get should raise the morale of their colleagues. But in reality it makes many of them jealous, which reflects the lack of equity in workplace. A person's promotion does not depend on his/her competence, hard work and contribution to an organization, but his/her social connections and personal background.

The emergence of such a phenomenon shows company guidelines and work culture exist only in name. In fact, the lack of an effective counterbalancing force in the system is the reason why such unspoken rules exist.

It is necessary to establish a system of fairness and equity to eliminate jealousy among employees. If social norms are not fair or not fairly implemented, employees as well as people in the wider society will continue to be upset and jealous.