Minimise workplace negativity in your team

How do you minimise negativity in the first place?

Give control

The single most frequent cause of workplace negativity is traceable to a manager or the organisation making a decision about an employee without their input. Almost any decision that excludes the input of the person doing the work is perceived as negative. This starts with project responsibilities and ends with restructuring entire departments.

Ensure you involve the people who will be affected

Appreciate input Are people in your team speaking up about overtime or ineffective HR practices? Appreciate their input and react accordingly. Don’t brush it off. Show that you take their concerns seriously and ask them to continuously bring them up with you. If they talk to you about them, they won’t complain to other employees.

Give them that space

Don’t put everyone in the same box Let’s say your company allows remote work but suddenly a few employees’ performance goes down drastically on remote working days. You may want to react by putting an end to remote work. But what about the people in your team who perform remotely? Should they be punished? Because that’s how it would feel to them if you instate this new rule. Do not create rules for all employees when just a few are violating the norms. To combat negativity, you want to be operating as little as possible based on general rules.

Help people feel included

As a manager, you must aim to treat employees equally. This means everyone should get information at the same time, be involved in decisions the same way (in context to their role of course) and be provided with the same space to speak up. Inter-team hierarchies are a safe way towards negativity, so you want to avoid them as much as you can.

Recognise a job well done

Recognition is the most powerful reward for humans – both at work and in private. Make sure you recognise and reward a job well done. Show that you value engagement. Managers who fail to recognise performing employees, often face not only a higher turnover but also increased negativity.

Support employee development

Let people grow and develop. If this means they will outgrow their current role in your team, ensure you support them anyway. Seeing potential for development and opportunities can be extremely motivating. By offering employees opportunities to grow, you help them focus on the positive.

Are you ready to combat negativity?