Neutralizing A Negative Workplace: Understanding and dealing with negativity at the office White, Paul

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ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) Negativity is one of the most common, and deeply ingrained, obstacles to a healthy work environment. When working with front-line employees, supervisors and mid-level managers, a frequent question I hear is, “What can I do to create more positive interactions in my workplace? People are so negative here!” FULL TEXT

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Enlarge this image. Negativity is one of the most common, and deeply ingrained, obstacles to a healthy work environment. When working with front-line employees, supervisors and mid-level managers, a frequent question I hear is, “What can I do

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to create more positive interactions in my workplace? People are so negative here!” Negativity: What is it, really? Believe it or not, the term “negativity” does not mean the same thing to everyone or display itself consistently in all work settings. Each facility, or even departments within a facility, can be “negative” in different ways. So the first step is to behaviorally define: “What does ‘negativity’ look like in your work setting?” In getting feedback from supervisors and employees, we came up with a long list of behaviors and characteristics. Here is our current list. Examples of Negative Behaviors in the Workplace Where Negativity Comes From Negative reactions are created by a variety of factors, and often a combination of issues. One of the most frequently ignored set of factors are physiological ones. While it becomes obvious once mentioned, we need to remember that we are more likely to react with negative behavior when we are tired, hungry or thirsty, if there are hormonal changes occurring, or when we generally don’t feel well, have a headache, or in pain. Probably the most common source of negative reactions is when expectations aren’t met. We get angry (at different intensity levels) when what we think should happen doesn’t, or when something happens that we think shouldn’t. So, if a team member is (or a group of employees are) consistently displaying negative reactions in the workplace, it is quite likely that they are experiencing a mismatch between their expectations and what they are experiencing in day-to-day work life. Hundreds of books have been written on the topic of controlling our emotional reactions by examining our thought patterns and belief systems which can be of help. How to Begin to Neutralize Negativity So what can be done? Do you just have to accept the level of negativity expressed in your workplace? No, you don’t have to resort to “walking on eggshells” waiting for someone to explode, or try to avoid colleagues who seem angry much of the time. Nor do you have to endure the seemingly endless complaining, grumbling and cynical comments made by others. "We do not have the power to change others’ attitudes, and often we have minimal ability to shape their behaviors. But each of us has the capability to impact those we work with on a daily basis". Here are three practical steps to begin with: 1. Don’t engage in the negative. When others are complaining, keep quiet. If a group is gossiping about another team member, just walk away. When someone acts in a hostile way toward you, respond appropriately and calmly. Don’t add to the negative energy others are displaying. 2. Contribute to the positive. A positive comment is like throwing water on a fire trying to get started. Smile. Make a humorous (non-cutting) comment. Tell someone thanks for a job done well. Comment on how nice the weather is or being thankful for air conditioning. A little positivity and gratefulness can douse a developing “negativity” wildfire. 3. Explore your and others’ expectations and compare them with reality. Examine whether people’s expectations are reality-based. (Tip: It is best to start with yourself rather than others.) Compare your situation with other situations worse than yours, and see how that impacts your perspective. Consider doing some in-service training with staff on what are realistic and unrealistic expectations for their jobs and workplace. Unfortunately, negative attitudes and behaviors seem to reign in many workplaces. But don’t let others dominate and take control of your workplace environment. Each person can begin to take steps to help create a more positive workplace, and when employees work together to do so, a far healthier workplace culture can be developed. Author Bio Dr. Paul White is the author of The Vibrant Workplace and co-author of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the NY Times #1 Bestseller, The 5 Love Languages. DETAILS

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Subject: Employees

Business indexing term: Subject: Employees

People: Chapman, Gary

Publication title: Personal Excellence Essentials; Aurora

Publication year: 2018

Publication date: Apr 2018

Publisher: HR.COM

Place of publication: Aurora

Country of publication: Canada, Aurora

Publication subject: Sociology

Source type: Magazine

Language of publication: English

Document type: Feature

Publication history :

Online publication date: 2018-04-08

Publication history :

   First posting date: 08 Apr 2018

ProQuest document ID: 2043346287

Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/magazines/neutralizing-negative-workplace- understanding/docview/2043346287/se-2?accountid=14872

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Last updated: 2022-11-23

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Digital Article

Diversity And Inclusion

Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion The latter is harder to measure but just as important. by Laura Sherbin and Ripa Rashid

This document is authorized for use only by Yaina Delgado in Mgng People & Promoting Collab-Fall 2023 at Walden University (Canvas), 2023.

Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion

The latter is harder to measure but just as important. by Laura Sherbin and Ripa Rashid

Published on HBR.org / February 01, 2017 / Reprint H03FC8

Leaders have long recognized that a

diverse workforce of women, people of

color, and LGBT individuals confers a

competitive edge in terms of selling

products or services to diverse end users.

Yet a stark gap persists between

recognizing the leadership behaviors that

unlock this capability and actually

practicing them.

Part of the problem is that “diversity” and

“inclusion” are so often lumped together

that they’re assumed to be the same thing.

But that’s just not the case. In the context

of the workplace, diversity equals

representation. Without inclusion, however, the crucial connections

that attract diverse talent, encourage their participation, foster

innovation, and lead to business growth won’t happen. As noted

diversity advocate Vernā Myers puts it, “Diversity is being invited to the

party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

Numerous studies show that diversity alone doesn’t drive inclusion.

In fact, without inclusion there’s often a diversity backlash. Our

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research on sponsorship and multicultural professionals, for example,

shows that although 41% of senior-level African-Americans, 20% of

senior-level Asians, and 18% of senior-level Hispanics feel obligated to

sponsor employees of the same gender or ethnicity as themselves (for

Caucasians the number is 7%), they hesitate to take action. Sponsors

of color, especially at the top, are hobbled by the perception of giving

special treatment to protégés of color and the concern that protégés

might not “make the grade.” The result: Just 18% of Asians, 21% of

African-Americans, and 25% of Hispanics step up to sponsorship (and

27% of Caucasians).

Another difficulty in solving the issue is data. It’s easy to measure

diversity: It’s a simple matter of headcount. But quantifying feelings

of inclusion can be dicey. Understanding that narrative along with the

numbers is what really draws the picture for companies.

For example, we worked with a Chile-based firm that would seem

to have no problems with diversity. After all, one of their most

valued employees is an indigenous Peruvian, a man who is respected,

well-paid, and included in the leadership team’s decision-making

discussions. Yet in a one-on-one interview he confided that he saw

no future for his ambitions at that firm. “I know they value me,” he

said, “but I am an indigenous person, and they are white, legacy, and

Spanish. They will never make me a partner, because of my color and

background.” Conventional measures would never flag this talented

man for a flight risk; it’s up to the narrative to tell the tale.

At the Center for Talent Innovation, we have constructed a

unique, robust framework for measuring the things that matter. Our

methodology relies on three streams of information: wide-ranging,

anonymous, quantitative surveys provide the statistical foundation;

Insights In-Depth sessions, a proprietary web-based tool used to

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conduct facilitated focus groups within companies, provide the stories

to flesh out the statistics; and one-on-one interviews enrich the

statistics with deeper meaning. Within that framework our research has

uncovered four levers that drive inclusion.

Inclusive leaders. This kind of leadership is a conglomeration of six

behaviors: ensuring that team members speak up and are heard; making

it safe to propose novel ideas; empowering team members to make

decisions; taking advice and implementing feedback; giving actionable

feedback; and sharing credit for team success. Of employees who report

that their team leader has at least three of these traits, 87% say they feel

welcome and included in their team, 87% say they feel free to express

their views and opinions, and 74% say they feel that their ideas are

heard and recognized. For respondents who reported that their team

leader has none of these traits, those percentages dropped to 51%, 46%,

and 37%, respectively.

Authenticity. It’s not surprising that everyone expends energy by

repressing parts of their persona in the workplace in some way. But

according to our research, 37% of African-Americans and Hispanics

and 45% of Asians say they “need to compromise their authenticity”

to conform to their company’s standards of demeanor or style. Our

research on women in the science, engineering, and technology

industries shows that, regardless of gender, acting “like a man” can

provide an advantage in becoming a leader in these fields. What a waste

of employees’ energy, let alone their employers’ diversity dollars.

Networking and visibility. For women and people of color, the key

to rising above a playing field that remains stubbornly uneven is

sponsorship. A sponsor is a senior-level leader who elevates their

protégé’s visibility within the corridors of power, advocates for key

assignments and promotions for them, and puts their reputation

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on the line for the protégé’s advancement. For those who feel

marginalized by their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual identity, or

educational and economic background, sponsorship is particularly

crucial in invigorating ambition and driving engagement. Having a

sponsor increases the likelihood of being satisfied with the rate of career

advancement. Conversely, lack of sponsorship increases someone’s

likelihood of quitting within a year.

Clear career paths. For women, LGBT individuals, and people of

color, the map to career success is murky. Our research shows that

45% of women off-ramp to take care of children, although elder care

is increasingly pulling women off the career track, with 24% leaving

to care for aging relatives. But a significant number of women also

feel pushed off the ladder: 29% say their career isn’t satisfying, and

23% feel stalled in their careers. Comments from women in focus

groups note that they’re frustrated by being passed over for high-profile

assignments, and they have a general sense of missing out on the right

opportunities. LGBT individuals and people of color, too, struggle to

name a simple solution to open up a blocked career path. Ironically, it’s

usually the majority group that presumes to identify the reason these

people aren’t advancing, which too often results in the problem being

oversimplified.

Companies should start from the simple but fundamental

understanding that there are different perspectives, each of them

valuable, and work to explore and identify the range of barriers holding

these individuals back. Organizations can then formulate plans and

programs that offer options and provide signposts that help women,

LGBT people, and people of color find the path that’s right for where

they are in their lives and careers.

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Focusing on these four levers can elicit real change. Our research finds

that employees with inclusive managers are 1.3 times more likely to feel

that their innovative potential is unlocked. Employees who are able to

bring their whole selves to work are 42% less likely to say they intend to

leave their job within a year. Those with sponsors are 62% more likely to

have asked for and have received a promotion. And 69% of women who

off-ramp would have stayed at their companies if they’d had flexible

work options.

Diversity without inclusion is a story of missed opportunities, of

employees so used to being overlooked that they no longer share ideas

and insights. But diversity with inclusion provides a potent mix of talent

retention and engagement.

This article was originally published online on February 01, 2017.

Laura Sherbin, PhD, is co-president of the Center for Talent Innovation. She is an economist who specializes in the creation of competitive advantage through inclusion and diversity.

Ripa Rashid specializes in global talent strategies. She has spent over a decade as a management consultant and has held senior positions at Met Life and Time Warner. She is coauthor with Hewlett of Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011). She is a graduate of Harvard University and INSEAD’s MBA program.

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REPRINT H05F5N PUBLISHED ON HBR.ORG FEBRUARY 17, 2020

ARTICLE LEADERSHIP Don’t Let Negativity Sink Your Organization by Bill Taylor

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LEADERSHIP

Don’t Let Negativity Sink Your Organization by Bill Taylor FEBRUARY 17, 2020

HENRIK SORENSEN/GETTY IMAGES

Every so often, you encounter academic research that snaps into place a whole bunch of tensions, issues, and problems that you’ve noticed but haven’t been able to understand. That happened to me when I read a new book called The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It. The authors of the book, renowned research psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and award- winning journalist John Tierney, offer lessons from social science about life, love, parenting, even politics.

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For me, though, the book provided eye-opening insights into a set of questions about business and leadership that I have been wrestling with for years — questions that get to the heart of why so many organizations find it difficult to transform themselves despite the best of intentions. Questions such as:

Why do so many big, established, well-funded companies remain so cautious and conservative, even in the face of radical technology advances and head-spinning disruptions in the marketplace? Why is change so hard?

Why are so many executives so deadly afraid of failure, even though most of them will admit that successful innovation rarely comes without setbacks, that the very nature of launching new products or rethinking old processes requires risk-taking, experimentation, and inevitable bumps in the road?

How is it that just one discordant colleague, a single voice of negativity in a business unit or project team that is upbeat and enthusiastic, can cast such a long shadow on group morale? How does one bad apple always seem to spoil the whole bunch?

John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister help us wrestle with these and other questions about strategy, culture, and creativity by starting with a defining principle of human psychology — bad is stronger than good. We humans are wired in such a way, they argue, that there is a “universal tendency for negative events and emotions to affect us more strongly than positive ones.” We are “devastated by a word of criticism” but “unmoved by a shower of praise.” We “see the hostile face in the crowd” but “miss all the friendly smiles.”

I don’t know about you, but for me, as a parent, an author, and a public speaker, these observations ring painfully true. But this built-in “negativity bias” also has huge implications for us in our roles as leaders, colleagues, and change agents.

For one thing, it explains why so many organizations remain so reluctant to change, even in the face of massive evidence that the risk of trying something new is much lower than the cost of clinging to what’s worked in the past. Too many of us are “safety junkies,” according to Tierney and Baumeister. “We pay so much attention to bad things — reliving them, imagining them, avoiding them — that we let fear run our lives and become irrationally cautious.”

The social-science term for this mindset is “loss aversion” — most of us prefer to play not to lose rather than play to win, because we feel the sting of defeat so much more intensely than the pleasure of success. But for leaders who want their companies to win, especially in fast-changing, hyper- competitive fields, allowing their organizations to remain addicted to safety is the ultimate losing proposition. I’ve found that the best leaders infuse their organizations with what John Gardner, the legendary leadership scholar, called “tough-minded optimism” — excitement, enthusiasm, grit. The future, he insisted, “is rarely shaped by people who don’t themselves believe in the future.” Effective leaders keep their people excited