Bad management, long hours, lack of appreciation, not feeling valued — these are just a few reasons we might be unhappy at work. But contrary to what your manager might think, bitching about your job could actually be good for you.
Vanessa Pouthier, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, studied a team of nurses and other health professionals at a large U.S. hospital for an entire year and found that workplace complaining might have some solid value.
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She told ABC Radio Perth that joking and griping during conversations in the break room seemed to improve the mood of the team, which she described as clearly overworked.
“It helps people to process stress and frustration and you notice palpable changes when team members engaged in both activities,” she said, explaining that those bitch sessions have the potential to relieve the stress associated with workplace meetings.
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“One doctor said the meetings can be draining, but when they engage in banter and griping they leave the meeting feeling lighter and it changed the way they related to each other throughout the day.
“When that doesn’t happen, your day feels very long.”
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Dr.P outhier went on to say that even though managers get nervous over the idea of staff not loving their job or getting irritated over some aspect of it, it’s really more beneficial than not, unless the workplace is at a toxic crossroads.
“Those gripes are not necessarily calls for change; they are calls for commiseration and bonding and just releasing the negative energy, especially when using humour,” she said, adding that the gripes are “statements of identification and kinship.”
