How Complaining Makes Us More Miserable, Ineffectual, and Insecure

How Complaining Makes Us More Miserable, Ineffectual, and Insecure
Complaining can sometimes be a way to criticize someone else so that we feel superior. PR Image Factory/Shutterstock
Barry Brownstein
Updated:
The Harvard Business Review reports, “A majority of employees spend 10 or more hours per month complaining—or listening to others complain—about their bosses or upper management. Even more amazing, almost a third spend 20 hours or more per month doing so.”

Only voiced complaints were measured and reported in the study. Add unspoken complaints and it is easy to see there is a lot of mental churning and self-inflicted emotional disruption in our lives.

Barry Brownstein
Barry Brownstein
Author
Barry Brownstein is professor emeritus of economics and leadership at the University of Baltimore. He is the author of “The Inner-Work of Leadership,” and his essays have appeared in publications such as the Foundation for Economic Education and Intellectual Takeout.
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