Peer pressure occurs when a group influences or persuades a person to change their values, behaviors or attitudes for them to meet the norms of the group. Whereas many people think of peer pressure as a childhood behavior, peer pressure also affects adults even in the workplace. Sometimes colleagues may lure an individual to go out for drinks after work even if the individual is not interested. While some of the group influences can create a positive impact on an individual, it is important to note that most of the groups in workplaces provide negative influences on their peers (Sias & Cahill, 1998). Many of the colleagues both in white collar and blue collar jobs may lack respect, honesty, and professionalism. Some of them may give information which is false and unreliable. It is, therefore, important for everyone joining an organization to learn how to control peer pressure which may be coming from the group norms if he or she is interested in delivering the best at work.
Giving in to peer pressure is similar to allowing others to decide or to think on one's behalf (Wren, 2018). The moment one steps back to think about the decisions one is to make out of the group influences, one gets the courage to think for oneself and to decide as an individual. Using one's own knowledge and thinking ability instead of ignorantly relying on the thinking of the coworkers is the most objective way to deal with the peer influence that one may face from the other colleagues.
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Another way of controlling peer influence from coworkers is to ask the influencer 101 questions. For instance, if an individual is getting pressured to smoke, the individual should ask the influencer the advantages of smoking and what he has benefitted from smoking. Secondly, one should always learn how to say no and say it like he means it. When saying no, one should make eye contact and say no with authority. It is also important to back the no response with a positive statement. Using the same example of smoking, after saying no to the influencer, the approached individual can, for example, say that he loves himself the way he is. One should also be repetitive with one's stand and should not hesitate to point out one's position whenever the topic comes up. It is also important to walk away from the pressure zone (Sias & Cahill, 1998). Sometimes when the group is advocating or discussing something that an individual does not agree with, it may be important to walk away from the scene.
Employers can use mentors to instill positive peer pressure amongst the workers. One of the ways through which the mentors can achieve this is through encouraging workers to practice common courtesy (Wren, 2018). This can involve making eye contact when talking to colleagues as well as referring to people by names. There is nothing as bad as greeting a colleague with a friendly tone only to get a stony stare as a response. Colleagues should learn how to treat each other with respect by applying the simple courtesy words or actions such as saying sorry or thank you. It is also important to encourage the workers to follow up with each other. After completing a task involving colleagues, it is important to take time and send emails or texts to follow up and ask how things are going with them or if things are working out for them (Dutton & Ragins, 2017). This helps in building relationships amongst workers as well as encouraging the caring habit amongst them. At the end of the day, the workers get to work as a team.
The mentors can also encourage the workers to own up to mistakes. For every organization, mistakes are inevitable. Sometimes these mistakes can be costly and disastrous. Even so, it is important that once there is a mistake, the person who does the mistake owns up instead of passing the buck to someone else. The culture of owning up to mistakes helps people to operate with openness and without fear. It may not just be enough to acknowledge mistakes done. Even after owning up, one should explain how she or he ended up doing the mistakes and explore ways in which the mistake could be avoided (Wren, 2018). Sometimes, it may be someone else who does the mistake. In such a case, one should not tell the management but confront the person who does the mistake to own up and report himself to the authority. If the person who does the mistake is not available, one can explain exactly what happened from the standpoint of an impartial observer without exaggerating anything or lying.
It is also important to encourage workers to love their work and avoid gripping overwork while at work. Most people have the tendency of venting about their jobs. While the job can be stressful sometimes, complaining about work should not be done while at work (Dutton & Ragins, 2017). One can complain about the job at home, or even to a friend who is not at work. Managers or leaders should always avoid pulling out their frustrations in front of the workers since this behavior can trickle down to other members of the staff.
Lastly, it is important to encourage workers to treat everyone the same. Office politics can sometimes be deadly and unavoidable. It is important to avoid office politics as much as possible and avoid gossiping even if the other colleagues are doing it. Many things change in an organization with time. For example, the manager can leave and another person takes his or her place. It is important for one to stay friendly or neutral with everyone.
References
Dutton, J. E., & Ragins, B. R. (2017). Exploring positive relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation . Psychology Press.
Sias, P. M., & Cahill, D. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication (includes Communication Reports) , 62 (3), 273-299.
Wren, C. (2018). Employee Perceptions of Leadership Styles That Influence Workplace Performance.
