Friday, November 6, 2009

Cures for Negativity


Your workplace is seething with hostility and negativity. No matter where the bad vibes came from, it's up to you to help make the atmosphere more positive, productive and supportive. As a manager, supervisor, or staff member, you usually do not control the situation that is causing the negativity. Perhaps no one in your workplace does. How you address negativity depends on whether you control it and how it started in the first place. The timeliness of your intervention also has an impact.
Tips for Managing Workplace Negativity discussed how to prevent negativity from occurring in the first place. In this article, I’ll describe how you can address negativity when it is already present in your workplace. Addressing negativity prevents workplace violence, promotes workplace safety, and creates positive employee morale.

When You Can Control or Influence the Negativity


This is a best case scenario. You have received feedback about negative rumors and you know that the underlying cause of the negativity is based on faulty information, incorrect assumptions, or deliberate misinformation. You may receive feedback that a new policy or procedure is not understood correctly. People may be misinterpreting a corporate memo.
An industry newsletter might have referenced an industry problem your company does not share. You may have fired an individual who is circulating false information about the company. In each of these circumstances, you have some control over the information, the situation, and the communication. You can solve the problem and communicate well to overcome the negativity.
When you can control or influence the situation, use a systematic problem-solving process with the affected employees to improve the identified areas of negativity. Do this as quickly as you determine that negativity exists. (Many Human Resources offices launch a complete investigation, and by the time the facts are gathered, the negativity is out ofcontrol. )
Include the employees who are closest to the negative situation in the problem-solving process. Do a good cause analysis so that all possible causes of the negativity are identified. It is not enough to say, “We have low morale.” You need to identify exactly what is causing the low morale to have any chance of improving it. Solicit widespread input to each step of the action plan you develop so that solutions are “owned” across your organization. Involve as many people as you can in its development and particularly in its implementation. Implement the chosen solutions quickly. Then, periodically assess that the plan is working.
At each step of the problem-solving process, communicate as much information as you have about the negativity and the solutions. When the solutions selected in the action plan are rolled out, people in the organization are not surprised. They have participated in the information exchange as each step or opportunity was discussed.

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