Jennifer Newman: How work can become a self-help tool

Work is worthwhile because it provides a paycheque but there can be a lot more to it than that, says workplace psychologist Jennifer Newman.

Newman says embracing challenges at work, including conflicts with coworkers, can teach valuable lessons and skills that can elevate your self-esteem.

She sat down with hostStephen Quinn on The Early Edition to talk about how work can "make you a better person."

Stephen Quinn:So I just have to show up. That's it?I show up and I become a better person?

Jennifer Newman:You don't need any large sums of money, or to going on expensive retreats, or to takea bunch of extra courses. You can come into work and learn everything you need to know about yourself, and you can become a better person by just showing up and doing your job. It's just as easy as that.

How does just showing up make you a better person?

Work is one of the most personally challenging things you can ever do. Some go off and climb a mountain and learn about themselves under pressurebut you can stay here and do that.

The one thing that work teaches us is resiliency butthat's if we let it. It takes a certain amount of grit to come in some days. If you've suffered a setback, you have to bounce back. Work provides that opportunity.

That's the beauty of using work as a self-help tool. You're basically learning how to handle setbacks and that's a free lesson.

What about dealing with another person or personality?

Mastering that one takes time [but] work gives you tons of opportunities to do that type of thing.

Whether it's the supplier that doesn't seem to care less, or the micro-managing boss, you're able to work on learning about how to be with annoying people and take a self-helpchallenge.

I've seen situations where co-workers are at odds with each other.and it's about work load one's doing stuff and the other one feelslike they're not pulling their weight.That can go on for a long time until the worker decides to broach the topic

And then they find out that their colleague didn't understand the system that was supposed to be being used, and then they can clear up the confusion, and the issue between them gets resolved.

Learning how to talk to colleagues when things aren't going very smoothly is a tough thing to learn, and you get lots of opportunity to do it at work. You will be able to hone our tactful skills and your diplomatic abilities by coming in every day and practicing.

There's a lot of people who find work to be a real struggle. What about the people who just check out and go 'you know what? I'm goingput in exactly what it takes, then I'm going to take my paychequehome'?

Those folks do exist. And if you think about what thats like on a day to day basis it's a grind, it's very upsetting.

In [that] case you need to ask yourself, 'what's my life energy worth? what's my happiness worth?' And maybe part of the life lesson is you might have to find something else.

If you want to keep doing the same old thing, over and over, you might find that it results in not getting ahead, losing a job, bad evaluations, and essentially this feeling of frustration and resentment.

But work can, if you let it, force you to become a better person. Sometimes it's despite ourselves.

We live in a culture where our work defines us. The question 'What do you do?'is basically short for 'who are you?' Is that a good or a bad thing?

It's a slippery slope. If your identity is fused to your job, and if something happens with the job, then your identity and your self-understanding is going to be shaken.

Something to learn is to look at yourself on the job and think 'okay,can Ipull apart myself and how Isee myselfinthe role Itake at work?'

What you have to do is pull that apart, and start to think aboutwho you are asa person.

This interview has been edited and condensed

With files from CBC'sThe Early Edition

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled:Jennifer Newman: How work can become a self-help tool