I'm Maura Aronsmeli, and this is The Anxious Achiever.

We look at stories from business leaders who've dealt with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges, how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how they hope workplaces can change.

Today's guest reminds us that envy is one of the seven deadly sins. She calls envy an ugly emotion, but her research also shows just how common an emotion it is in our

workplaces. Beyond the workplace, envy is fundamental. Babies feel envy, dogs feel envy. I mean, just

think back to your youth. I bet you can still picture a childhood rival who stirred envious

feelings. When I was five years old, I stole Barbie accessories

from a friend's house at a play date. I put them in my pants leg. So deeply did I covet her toys,

and so envious was I of her bounty in life. In this episode, part two of our mini-series on envy,

we explore the deep psychological and familiar roots of envy and how it can cause distraction and rumination to bloom. Envy can cause us to lose

focus and to fixate on another person instead of on ourselves and our work. Envy can drive bad

decisions, like my five-year-old Larsonist self.

And so we'll also talk about how to shift feelings of envying other people to feeling joy

at others' accomplishments. Negotiating your relationship with envious feelings is a boundary-setting

exercise. It's one of setting your own boundaries. And that can be a simple or a complex process.

And so we'll talk about how to draw good boundaries to limit your envious feelings.

Because ultimately, when you feel less envy, you become more successful yourself.

My guest, Tanya Menon, is Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Fisher College

of Business, Ohio State University.

She studies how people think about relationships and how this affects the way they make decisions,

collaborate, and lead at work.

So I'm curious what made you want to study Envy.

So when I started this research, Envy wasn't a topic I would have ever picked to study.

...