How to Reduce Workplace Conflict and Stress

Chapter One

The Self-Defeating Habits of Otherwise Brilliant People: Getting Duped by the Dazzle of Contempt

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage, to move in the opposite direction.

—Albert Einstein

 

We must begin to acknowledge that something central to civilization is threatening to unravel. Our economic, social, and environmental systems are becoming increasingly strained. Americans, Canadians, and Europeans are responding to unprecedented levels of stress and exhaustion. As individuals become overtaxed and anxious, two disparate views wrestle for their allegiance: hostility and compassion. In both our workplaces and our worlds, hostility and blame threaten ...