12 Tips to Combat Negativity in Your Organization

Negativity in the workplace can have many causes. Sometimes, external circumstances can be too overwhelming to ignore, and the bad feelings from that carry over into work. Other times, circumstances within the workplace might create tension and stress. 

It's easy for someone else to say that staying positive and having a good attitude are all you need. Should a situation like layoffs, or a general workplace culture be responsible for negativity, that advice can often ring hollow. That's not to discredit the obvious benefits of a positive attitude; it can make a bad job tolerable, and a good one great. It can make you happier, healthier, and more productive. 

However, combating negativity often requires more tangible action.

Regardless of whether you're a manager, vice president, or entry-level employee, there are concrete steps you can take to bring more positivity to the workplace. Granted, you might have more (or less) influence than others depending on your position or role. But understanding what you might potentially be able to do depending on the situation is how change can begin.

If you’re finding a stressed-out workforce that are dwelling on shortcomings, anticipating the worst for everything, and justifying negative behavior by saying that they’re just “being realistic”, you can turn things around.

Here are twelve tips to combat negativity and create a more positive atmosphere that you and your management team can do starting today:

1. Climate: More smiles, approving nods, and thank yous can help. Attitude alone can't fix everything; but it's a start.
2. Input: If you're in a managerial role, give your high-performing people more challenging, interesting, and visible projects. If someone who's struggling needs more motivation, find opportunities for them to try something new. When they’re ready, give them more responsibility and help them use talents they might not have known they had.
3. Output: Find tangible ways to reward strong performance. If for the individual, perhaps a gift card to their favorite coffee place or a Friday afternoon off. If for the whole team, maybe a catered lunch or a sponsored event outside the office.
4. Feedback: Give more positive feedback, reinforcement, and praise. Criticism can be helpful when constructive, but taking every opportunity to “catch them doing the right thing” can have an even bigger impact.
5. Assume universal “improvability”: Everyone can upgrade their performance, and that includes you. It's cliche, but it is possible to be the change you wish to see. Show how important a strong work ethic and dedication to accuracy is by modeling it.
6. Demonstrate confidence: Show your staff that you think they are capable by delegating more challenging assignments, more freedom, one-on-one coaching, and more involvement in planning. If you're an employee, take a chance by volunteering to work on or help manage a project that might be outside your comfort zone. Look for opportunities to say, “yes.”
7. Engage in ongoing dialog: Have an open door, listen, and provide full information. Be willing and eager to answer questions, even if someone is just verifying something you've already explained. Show that it's better to clarify instructions, than to guess wrong and have to fix a preventable mistake.
8. Set high standards: Setting high standards shows that you trust your staff to do well. This encourages them to rise to the occasion.
9. Be receptive to feedback: Even if you're in a management position, you still need to be just as receptive to feedback as you hope your employees are. It takes courage for someone to tell you they think your or the company's processes could be better, so listen with an open mind.
10. Criticize the work, not the person: All perceptions about personalities or attitudes should be removed from any moments of feedback. Regardless of how formal or informal this feedback is, it should be focused on behavior and facts. 
11. Encourage self- and career-development: Help others to strengthen their performance, capabilities, and career progress. If you're a manager, find opportunities for employees to take on more autonomy or managerial responsibilities. If you're an employee, look for ways to volunteer for things that will expand your skillset.
12. Remove personal biases: Keep opinions based on dress, personalities, and political views away from the office. Talking sports or movies is usually fine, and can even be grounds for improved team chemistry. But admonishing others for how they dress, or bringing your political views to the office in any way, can create negativity.

High employee morale is absolutely key to your organization’s well-being and your personal success. When employee morale is high, so is productivity, quality, and even customer loyalty. When employee morale is low, the only things that are high are employee turnover, absenteeism, and safety violations. That type of environment can't be sustained for long.

However, if you take the time to implement some or all of these steps as you see fit, you’ll bolster employee confidence in the company and their morale will rise. If you're an employee, you can bring a strong work ethic, good feedback, and an eagerness to improve that will likely permeate to the rest of your team.