Negativity in the workplace is nothing new. Since people have had jobs, there have always been negative employees and negative attitudes at work. While that may not seem like a big deal, negativity can have a multitude of harmful consequences.
Negativity can impact things like morale, mental health, engagement, productivity, profitability, and more. With so much on the line, it’s clear that businesses need to know how to deal with negative employees.
While that is often a challenge, this article aims to help make that easier. Today, we’ll look at the impacts of negative employee behavior and provide multiple potential strategies and solutions to help deal with negativity at work.
What Does Negativity in the Workplace Entail?
Negative employee behavior comes in all forms. However, these are the top 10 most bothersome behaviors according to managers according to Monster:
- Poor job performance
- Doesn’t work well with others
- Not responsive to coaching or feedback
- Resistant to change
- Lacks responsibility for their own actions
- Negative attitude
- Poor work ethic
- Arrogance
- Ineffective communication skills
- Skills don’t match the job
Poor job performance comes in at number one, with 25% of leaders saying their problem employees failed to perform up to par at work. Close behind is workers who don’t work well with others (24%) and those unresponsive to feedback (20%). A common theme among these traits is that these employees have an overall negative attitude and are stubborn when it comes to outsides perspectives.
The Impact of Negative Employee Behavior
To start things off, it’s important to understand the impact of negativity in the workplace. Many write off the impacts of negative behavior in the workplace and assume it doesn’t make a big difference. However, that’s a huge mistake.
Negative coworkers impact everyone around them. They can lower the morale of their coworkers, which in turn can lower productivity as employees are less and less excited and engaged with their work.
The negative employees themselves are affected as well. They often have a worse work-life balance and are in a bad mental space, both of which influence their health overall as well as their ability to complete their tasks in an efficient and effective manner.
All of that influences the company culture too. As employees get burnt out from negativity, frustrated, and resentful, the culture reflects that. People don’t go above and beyond, aren’t engaged, and aren’t productive. As word gets out about negativity in the workplace, it becomes harder to hire and keep qualified candidates. Turnover rates increase as well, and finding replacements as people leave becomes a challenge.
Negative employee behavior impacts just about everything and everyone in the workplace, from individual employees and turnover to management and productivity. Though it’s tempting to ignore negativity, it is something that must be addressed if you want to be successful.
Strategies for Overcoming Negativity at Work
It should now be clear that negativity in the workplace is something that businesses must be able to deal with. However, that leads to the question, “how to handle negative people at work?” It’s easy to say you need to do something, but it’s harder to actually do it.
Dealing with negative people at work can be a tough subject. You can’t just tell them to stop being negative, and there are likely good reasons why their behavior is the way it is. At the same time though, you need to ensure that negative attitudes don’t take over.
So, what can you do? The key to deal with negativity at work is to use the right strategies. To help you more effectively deal with negative employees, we’re going to provide you with strategies you can use to beat workplace negativity.
Meet with Negative Employees
As with many things in the workplace, a meeting is often the best place to start. If you only have a couple of negative employees, try recording their negative behavior and schedule a meeting to talk with them about it.
People often don’t even realize they’re being negative. They might be reacting to stresses or anxieties—from work, home, or elsewhere—and simply don’t notice the changes in their behavior. Talking to them about it may make them realize how they’ve been acting.
Create a goal and make a follow up plan. For example, say an employee is very negative and refuses to work on team projects. You might have them work with the group for two hours a day, then meet up in a week or two and discuss progress.
Also, try to explain the impact their behavior has on others. Many don’t realize how much their negativity impacts those around them, and being aware of that may make them start to make changes to their behavior.
The key though is ultimately open communication (which we’ll explain more in just a bit). Simply sitting down with negative employees, talking about what they’re feeling and going through, and making a plan can have a huge impact on their behavior.
Encourage Open Communication
Tying into the last point, open communication is also key to dealing with a negative attitude in the workplace. Again, negativity is usually rooted in some sort of real issue. You need to be able to have open and honest conversations if you want to deal with negativity in the workplace.
For example, an open door policy to allow employees to voice their concerns can help in numerous ways. Employees who are feeling negative can freely talk to their leaders about their struggles, and employees can explain their concerns before those feelings turn to negativity.
Regular one-on-ones can also serve a similar purpose, allowing employees to freely give and receive feedback. These meetings can help employees express their problems and have a better relationship with management, leading to less negativity.
On top of that, leaders need to know how to give effective feedback. Effective feedback can help employees work through their negativity and improve. However, that feedback needs to be constructive and specific so employees can actually act on it.
The key point here is having open lines of communication with employees. It’s hard to make changes, especially to employee behavior, without being able to effectively communicate. So emphasize communication and ensure employees/leaders are ready and willing to talk openly.
Be a Role Model
This strategy for dealing with workplace negativity is just general good advice—be a role model. People follow their leaders, so leaders need to be role models and display the behaviors and attitudes they want to see in their employees.
For example, if a boss is overly negative all the time and criticizing everything, employees will too. They will assume that’s what’s accepted and expected in the workplace and will follow suit, being negative just like their boss.
On the flip side though, if a boss is positive, communicates with employees, and provides constructive feedback, that will be the standard. Employees will model that behavior and be positive, hardworking employees ready to do their best.
Managers and leaders need to lead by example, be positive, and be eager to contribute to projects. They should be ready and willing to listen to employees’ concerns, help where they can, and be the leaders employees expect them to be.
Another benefit of leading by example is that it helps contribute to psychological safety at work. If leaders are listening to employees, helping them when possible, and doing their best to be positive role models, employees are going to feel more safe psychologically at work.
That in turn can also help your business. Employees who feel safe are more likely to contribute, innovate, be creative, and collaborate effectively with those around them—helping your business succeed and achieve its goals.
Recognize Hard Work
Another way you can try to deal with people being negative at work is by recognizing their efforts. Avoid performance punishment and instead reward employees for all of their hard work. While it’s tempting to give high performers more work, it’s usually counterproductive.
Instead, give employees the accolades and acknowledgment they deserve. That doesn’t have to mean an award ceremony or bonuses, but it does mean you need to set aside some time to give them their dues.
There are many different ways to go about recognizing hard work. One option is to utilize employee incentives. These incentives range from advancement opportunities and wellness programs to financial incentives and gifts.
Whichever kind of incentives you decide to use, the effect is the same; you’re giving employees a reason to work hard and do their best. Whether it’s money or a chance to get a promotion, you need to show employees that their efforts are valued and rewarded.
Another option is individualized recognition. No one likes to spend a bunch of time on a project and feel like they did a good job, only to get no acknowledgement, thanks, or recognition for our hard work.
So consider recognizing employees individually for their efforts. Again, there are many different ways to do that, such as financial incentives, gifts, or awards. But the end goal is to recognize all the hard work that employees do on a daily basis.
Create Opportunities for Connection
Let’s wrap things up with possibly the most effective way to deal with a negative attitude in the workplace—creating opportunities for connection. Giving employees a chance to build bonds can be one of the best ways to eliminate negativity in the workplace.
Team building events are perfect for this. They bring employees together for a shared experience, typically requiring them to learn more about each other and work together. That fosters understanding, which can help eliminate negativity.
The Do Good Bus for example involves employees traveling together in their community, working side-by-side to help those in need. Doing charitable work together can be incredibly effective at building bonds and decreasing negativity.
Day at the Museum is another example. In this scavenger hunt event, teams come together to navigate the venue, uncover clues, and overcome challenges. This builds bonds and can help lessen negativity.
Beat Negativity in the Workplace with TeamBonding
Negativity at work is something that most workplaces deal with at some point. Negative attitudes can drag down morale, increase turnover, decrease productivity, and more, making it an issue that businesses need to address.
By utilizing the strategies laid in this article, businesses can open up a better line of communication with their employees, set a better standard, and create a better, more positive workplace.
Beat negativity in the workplace with TeamBonding. Opportunities for connection are one of the best ways to deal with negativity, and we have a plethora of events perfectly suited to building bonds. So get in touch with us and bring some positivity into your workplace with TeamBonding.
