You know these “Negatrons”— and every single office space in the Philippines has some—and you can always avoid their impact on your positive outlook by avoiding them. Truth be told, you don’t have any good reason to hang around with people overflowing with negativity and it’s a fact that like the common cold, negativity is contagious.
If you surround yourself with negative people, chances are you may end up being negative too. Why go to that dire and gloomy direction? Your career and job should bring you happiness and fulfillment—not stress and anguish.
On the other side of the fence, sometimes normal individuals may sometimes show some negative vibes. Also, majority of the time, some causes of being negative are legitimate. Rather than avoiding them, you must take a completely different route in dealing with these occasionally negative colleagues.
Here are a few tips on how to deal with negativity in the work place. Remember, you need to approach people differently and you must be able to gauge the type of person or your dealing with especially if they have an impact on workplace productivity.
Negativity is like a plague.
Your contact with genuinely negative people should be as sparse and as limited as possible. Just as you set your boundaries with the colleagues whose negative attitude you believe is caused by outside factors, you need to put some distance between you and these innately negative people.
The reasons why they are filled to the brim and boiling with negativity are not your concern. Every negative person may have his own backstory, but you should never get involved. Don’t let them bring you down by listening to their sob stories, or knowing the history and the background about why they turned into The Grinch. You’ll just validate their negativity.
Those who monger negativity must learn to find a new job, a new environment, a change in career, a shift in their outlook, or even professional help. It is not your business to join them in their self-serving anguish. Don’t tread on their path—it’s never beneficial for you, for them or the company you both belong in.
Here’s how to deal with difficult people:
- Don’t hang out often with a negative co-worker. For all of the reasons I’ve already mentioned above, you may need to keep away unless you want to be infected by their negativity
- If you just don’t have a choice but to collaborate with a negative person because of your responsibilities in the company, draw a line that that separates you. Do not let yourself to become pulled into negative talk. Let the negative colleague know that you prefer to think about your tasks positively. Avoid being their captive audience to their perpetual whining.
- Ask the negative person seek assistance from their boss, from HR or seek professional guidance. Try to divert the person from bringing the negativity to your way.
- Talk to your immediate superior or to the Human Resources about the situations you are in because of the negative person. Your boss may be able to help you or may address the negativity themselves.
Keep in mind that the existence of negativity has a negative impact on your work environment as well as the productivity of your staff. Sometimes negativity may need to be addressed using disciplinary actions.
If negativity among the staff is a prevalent issue and are left unaddressed by management leading to the decline of your own productivity, the best option would be to move on and find a healthier and more positive environment.
