Ever get tired of an unfavorable workplace environment? A place where you are supposed to be focused on your work now delivering bad vibes. This can happen if there is too much negativity around. A business or any workplace may consist of workers with various backgrounds. They could have different views to interpret negativity. It can manifest as a poor attitude, lousy performance, or tension between colleagues.
The negativity that spins around in a place continuously can affect other workers. It spreads like a decayed orange spoil the whole fresh bucket. Other workers’ productivity will be decreased as the detrimental effect of negativity floating around. Imagine having a bad-mouthed colleague that is always trash-talking about the other workers. It may bother you and make your work progress disrupted. Nobody wants to get wretched because of the other’s influence. But we can’t blatantly blame the others if they were the cause of these bad influences around you. It will cause more tension and make matters even worse. Hence, there must be a better way to deal with workplace negativity to stay focused on what we already do before.
So, how to keep your environment remains positive yet enjoyable to work with?
What makes negativity and its impact on a workplace
A Workplace is consist of employees with various personality and backgrounds. Not all of these employees have the same perspective on their job. Some of them may not be liking their job at all. Whilst the other may super excited and ambitious with their job. They totally had their own pace to dig in. With diverse personalities found in the workplace, there will be a contradiction among the employees. This different way of responding and viewing could create an unfavorable atmosphere if they brought negative energy to work.
Negativity could emerge for many reasons you can find in the workplace. From an ambitious worker who wants to achieve everything by themself, a toxic work colleague interferes with the other person’s business, jerk bosses, and non-cooperative teamwork. These negative attitudes and behaviors can spoil the other fine worker around. It will decrease their productivity and engagement in their performances. There are several examples of the negative influence that commonly occur in any workplace.
Grumbling and complaining
When a sluggish person comes to work with less motivation to do the task, you may not be bothered physically. You will be bothered with their presence at the workplace neither. Their unwillingness to do the task yet complaining about the job may affect the workplace atmosphere you’re in. Complaining about the job is humane if the complaints were actually based on the worker incapability of the task that out of their reach. The complaint should be erected to gain more solutions to solve their problems, not only for grumbling about it without any further action to fix it. As a colleague, you can help them by becoming their listener. Give them new insights or solutions, so they not just grumbling and complaining all day long. Instead, your advice could strengthen their motivation to solve their problem.
Hatred
Office politics is usually found in almost every workplace. As the job has so many career stages, an opportunist will compete among the employees. Competing on career stages is normal, but we must keep the competition fairly. If the employee wants a promotion, they must pursue it by showing their good skills and performances. But the most common case that happens in a workplace is unfair competition among employees. The bad opportunist may tackle the others so they could achieve it for themself. Or they probably become a “bootlicker” to manipulate bosses to shorten their way to achieve goals. This behavior could create a bad working environment as the other employees can be jealous or even aggrieved. Unfair competition can grow hatred among individuals. It is horrible to know that the workplace that is supposed to be a good environment is now filled with hate and prejudice.
”Just a joke.”
Do you ever get offended with some jokes that didn’t catch with? It will always be somebody out there who presumably tells a joke to mock us. They could talk to us about something that we feel uncomfortable with. People who mock the other colleagues may have a sentiment toward them. It’s rooted in an unequal or unfair treatment that is continuously looping in the workplace. The inequality emerges hatred. Thus, they express their hatred by mocking others. If the victim is already offended, they want to get away with it. “Relax, it’s just a joke. Don’t take it seriously”. This kind of negative behavior can’t be justified because one person’s toxicity could disrupt others' comfort.
Intimidation
Seniority may occur in every kind of organization or institution, especially in the workplace. The elder and higher rank employees have more power over their juniors. Sometimes, there is a gap between the senior and junior. It can cause the seniors to abuse their position and power to intimidate their junior. Yelling and swearing to juniors if they make any mistake at their work. Or threaten them with the power they held to gain any goals they want.
How to Evade Workplace Negativity
As we know that the negativity of one person could spoil the others. It spreads like a plague that makes everybody felt disrupted. Of course, we don’t want to be distracted and lose our energy to face this negativity. So, we need to deal with this negativity with good positivity. Here you can apply these steps to your daily routine at the workplace.
- Start your day in a good mood.
To start a day in a good mood, you may need to do what really matters in the morning. Tidy up your bedroom after waking up early in the morning. Do some light stretching before doing any activity. Don’t rush into your phone messages and notification, or it will mess your mood. Any early connections in the morning can influence your mood on that day. Make a warm drink while reflecting on the list you’re on that day. Then, you can prepare for work after relaxing your body and mind. Play your favorite music along the road to evade crowd and rush hour environment. These activities may light your morning up with a better mood so you can be way more productive at the workplace. Better productivity means less negativity. So, try it up. - Mind your mouth — Stay positive or be silent
To avoid any negative activity in the workplace, you need to mind what you would say. Say nice things to the others. Don’t make any harsh conversation, or you will start a bad perception from the others. Keep everything as good as your mood. If you have any bad thoughts about someone, keep it yourself, and stay silent. It is better to stay silent rather than offend the other employee. Don’t counter the offensive or hatred word toward you with bad words, or it will make it worse. Instead, respond to it with good words so they wouldn’t bother you again. - Respect each other — Privacy, Empathy
Respecting each other in the workplace is a must. We should know the boundaries between each other employees. Giving them privacy space can create a good influence around them. They will appreciate that you respected their space and time. Don’t interrupt anyone if they were on duty. Giving empathy to the troubled colleague can also build a boundary for you and them. When you have spare time to help, try to giving a hand to them. These good deeds will produce a positive environment among the employees. - Avoid gossips
Try to make a positive conversation among the employees — no need to talk about the others behind their backs. Gossiping is just wasting your energy and time. It saps positive vibes on your surroundings and converts it into a negative way. If you have rumors or any other question about someone, try to meet them yourself. You can’t assume about something without clarifying it first into the related person. Gossiping makes the current rumors even worse because it can spread to many other employees without a trusted source. This could make the work environment filled with prejudice. - Make the fullest of the day.
The easiest way to avoid workplace negativity is to not bother with any bad activities around. You can make your day better with stay focused on what you’re doing. Don’t use even a little bit of your energy to respond to it. Collect all of your energy and intention and pour it to boost your productivity. Be productive and stay positive all day long.
There is still so much inevitable negativity around us. It may be hard for us to deal with it. At least, we could decrease its bad influence so we can continue our progress and thrive again.
Contributor: Abdul Hamid
