What is Workplace Negativity? Causes, Effects and Tips to Minimize It

What came to your mind when you first heard the term ‘workplace negativity’? Actually, I wasn’t much aware of it. I thought it is the negative feeling one gets when they enter their workplace like infected from unlikely people, Gossips, ‘you can’t do it’ attitudes, unappreciation, work pressure and all. It is literally this and more. Let’s dig in deep.

Causes Of Workplace Negativity

Every workplace has its own perks and perils in terms of employee negativity. Even the most employee-friendly workplace can shake under the influence of negative energy within.

Negativity can spread like a viral infection over a positive workplace. It may be difficult to understand and control in its prime state. But, employers have the chance to learn the reasons behind employee negativity. And also an early measure can hinder it from winning a hold.

Preventing negativity from going out of hand and filtering your workplace should be one priority for all employers. So make sure that you stay updated on what’s going on around and know what your employees want and need. You need to nibble employee negativity at its root before it reaches and plagues.

Many studies determined that the reasons for most of the employee negativity mainly included these following matters,

• An excessive workload that is unmanageable within a time-frame
• Anxieties about management’s capability to drive the company advancing successfully
• Worry about the future, especially longer-term job security and retirement assurance
• Lack of favourable challenge in the work and boredom from the same and repeated work
• Inadequate appreciation for the level of contribution and effort presented, moreover, concerns that pay is not equivalent to performance.
• Negative attitudes and gossips within the teams
• Acting ignorant over the temporary adverse circumstance of an employee and biting from behind

Effects of Negativity in the Workplace

Negativity in the workplace takes on many appearances including dishonesty, self-regard and grief. When a negative workplace is left to continue, it can start to affect everyone in the company. Recognize the effects of negativity in the workplace so that you can overcome before it overwhelms your workplace.

Lack of Creativity

A steadfast negative attitude in the workplace suffocates creativity. When negativity drives over, people follow existing and proven practices in their work for the fear that something new may not get appreciated. A negative environment prevents the spirit of innovation that can actually improve a company to invent new products or produce more fruitful ways of making business. When the workplace converts unfriendly in nature, people do not feel the necessity to share opinions with each other. New ideas do not flow, and the company will not move ahead progressively.

Lack of Communication

Communication slowly stops in a discouraging workplace. Team members have either had disagreements with each other over matters concerning negative speech and no longer articulate to each other. Sometimes the trust will be gone, in an air of negativity, it longer trusts the information that others present. Ego can be an element of negative work conditions, and that can direct people to assume that their interpretation is the single resolution. They ignore all other input as illogical, and communication throughout the whole organization disintegrates.

Lack of Teamwork

A team can be a team only if there is positive energy. Strong teamwork builds a rich workplace and supports the transfer of information among members. Negativity in the workplace can make everyone rigid, it can cause qualified representatives to neglect on newly hired employees and decline to offer any support in employee development. Gossip and misinformation can fill a negative workplace and cause the team to break into smaller gatherings that are not capable to give the results the company requires.

Lack of Confidence

Negativity can leave a feeling of suspicion or a lack of confidence in authority to improve among employees. Employees no longer get into the company vision and lose motivation. Spirit starts to fall, and the firm may encounter employee turnover as a consequence. A perception can arise that progress in the company is no longer a worthy effort, and employees begin to lose interest in elaborating their skill set. An unmotivated workforce supplies your opponent the chance to take over the market and damages your company profile.

Tips to Minimize Workplace Negativity

Prevention is better than cure, like any other infectious disease Negativity is also contagious, so treat it before it swallows your existing positive workplace.

Grant chances for employees to make choices and control or modify their work style. There should be space for everyone. All opinions should be taken mattered.

Make opportunities open for people to show their feeling about workplace policies and schemes. Understand the result of innovations in areas such as work hours, pay scale, employee benefits, the responsibility of overtime hours, dress codes, job conditions, and working statuses. These determinants are most intimate to each person. Changes to these can cause grave negative responses. Give appropriate, proactive replies to employee’s issues and interests.

Promote and announce workplace policies and procedures that create work efficiently. Practice them consistently.
Start trusting people from the time you select them. Check their performance, integrity, and participation over time to validate performance. Do not begin from a point by thinking that people must earn your trust initially. That kind of approach will make things worse. Employees are sensitive every time. If you don’t trust them they will identify you as untrustful.
Allow people the chance to grow and develop. Make your involvement in employee growth and development by building mutually developed career path plans for each employee.

Implement proper leadership and a vital framework, including purpose, spirit, values, and goals. People want to sense as if they are part of something greater than themselves. If they know the direction, and their part in making the aspired outcomes happen, they can offer more. People make better declarations for your business when you empower them with the knowledge they need to make choices that strategically follow with your overall objective.

Provide proper rewards and recognition so people feel their participation is valued. The power of relevant rewards and recognition for a positive workplace is exceptional.

Lastly but not least, let me ask you something, Do you think women experience workplace negativity rather than their men counterparts!? Comment your answers, please.

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