How can workers prevent their own values and attitudes from impacting negatively on what they do

There are plenty of rules—written and unwritten, social, formal and hierarchical—that govern over the workplace. One of the (usually) unwritten rules: avoid a negative attitude at work.

Work can be stressful, with a lot of pressure placed on people. When attitudes in the workplace tend toward negative, life gets harder for not just the people and teams directly affected—bad attitude at work can spill over and affect departments, floors, entire organisations.

Here, we’ll examine staff attitude and behaviour—what that means, some examples, and some methods showing you how to deal with difficult employees.

What is an attitude?

Reference to attitude can simply mean an ingrained, consistent way of thinking about an object or concept. This can be a positive or negative attitude.

As mentioned, it’s possible to have attitudes toward concepts. A negative work attitude, for instance, may mean someone is dissatisfied, unhappy or otherwise antagonistic toward their role—and again, a positive work attitude means the opposite.

From this logic, maintaining happiness in the work environment is essential for a productive workplace. Helping employees maintain a positive attitude will result in good performance, whereas the opposite will result in poor performance.

The difference between a negative attitude and a bad mood

It’s important to note that everyone has good days and bad days. Losing a client, a poor presentation or even having a frustrating commute can put a kind and even-keeled person in a bad mood.

A bad attitude, however, is typically a state of mind, and it has the potential to permeate a workplace and  create a negative environment . As a manager, you may need to choose between redirecting behaviour or letting a team member with bad attitude go, rather than risk alienating other employees.

What are some examples of workplace attitudes?

Attitude at work can be good, though when being discussed it will usually be about a poor attitude. It is important to recognise both types. It has a significant impact on a workplace, including productivity levels and morale. So praise good attitudes while identifying poor ones.

There are plenty of examples—essentially, all workplace behaviours reflect an attitude of sorts.

Positive attitude at work examples

  • Loyalty
  • Leadership
  • A willingness to go above and beyond
  • Positive mood
  • Mentoring
  • Integrity

Negative attitude at work examples

  • Laziness
  • Negative mood
  • A ‘that’ll do’ approach
  • Aggression
  • Blame
  • Disruption

From just these quick examples, we’re sure you can think of people in your organisation that might fit into either category.

Effects of attitudes on the rest of the team

A positive attitude is great—but negativity can be a problem. Some effects of negative attitudes behaviour on others include lower productivity, higher rates of absence, less team cohesion and low morale.

Negative attitudes effects

  • Lackluster performance
  • Unwillingness to work collaboratively
  • Dismal outlook
  • Unwillingness to try new things
  • Reduced energy levels
  • Depressive feelings
  • Reduced quality of work product
  • Poor customer engagement
  • Difficulty overcoming obstacles

Positive attitudes effects

  • Increased productivity
  • Greater probability of collaboration and teamwork
  • Improved morale
  • Ability to overcome adversity
  • Willingness to think creatively and try new things
  • Willingness to share information and ideas
  • Lower turnover
  • Increased sense of camaraderie
  • Improved customer service

How can I ensure positive attitudes at work?

Negative employee attitudes and behaviours at work can be tiring and stressful to manage. But there are some things you can do which will make dealing with difficult staff much easier:

Listen

A bit of a catch-all solution to a lot of problems. Sometimes, negative attitudes arise because someone is under stress, and is finding it hard to cope. Not everyone knows how to ask for help in this case, and they may lash out.

Listen to your teams and watch out for signs of stress—especially in the people who are reacting badly. Job satisfaction will improve if you listen to the employee about their issues.

Manage

Weekly catchups, performance reviews and chats are a great way to pick up on and fix negative attitudes. Remember, a negative work attitude isn’t always a staff member’s fault—they could have a lot on their plate, and no way to cope.

So, before you think ‘how do I deal with difficult employees,’ make some changes to the way you’re managing a team. Talk to them more. And as mentioned, listen.

Support

After all, if someone has the energy to maintain a bad attitude, they can use that force for good. At first, dealing with a difficult employee can seem, well, difficult.

But once you’ve figured out what’s going on, offering as much support as you can, makes a tremendous difference—whether it’s reducing a workload, changing a role, or even just asking how someone is doing at home.

Expert Advice

One way you can help your employees is with access to an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) where they can talk through their issues with qualified counsellors, who can help encourage positive attitudes.

If you’d like to find out more information on how to improve attitudes at work, please contact Health Assured on 0844 891 0352

How can workers prevent their own values and attitudes from impacting negatively on what they do

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Value conflicts can and do happen in the workplace. No matter how dedicated to doing your job you are, sometimes a client walks in wanting your assistance with something that goes against every fiber of your being. But, until you are fantastically successful you can't pick and choose your clients, and imposing your values on them risks at best losing them, and at worst really hurting them.

    You already know what your hot button issues are, of course, but Rhonda Williams, writing for the American School Counselor Association, suggests that you need to look a little deeper to figure out how your biases might affect your job performance. For example, a designer who is passionate about environmental causes might fail to even look at products from companies that aren't green enough in her opinion. Should her clients find out later there was a product available that better met their needs at a lower cost, she might have some explaining to do. To avoid this, Williams suggests taking stock of what's important to you. Make a list of things that you have bias towards and then consciously acknowledge that bias so you can work towards overcoming it.

    Your job, no matter your title, is to help your client meet goals according to her values. Counselors and social workers have this drilled into them from day one, but it's true in all fields. Just as a counselor who doesn't personally believe in divorce must help a woman leave her husband, a real estate agent must focus on her client's values in choosing a neighborhood, and a writing teacher must focus on the mechanics of an essay no matter how deplorable she finds the topic. It's that narrow focus on the goal that will help you. Ask your client what she wants and help her get it, all the while reminding yourself it's not about you. The client will feel validated and successful and hopefully will refer more clients to you so that you can feel validated and successful too.

    Listen to what your client really wants. In her California State University, Northridge course on interviewing and counseling, psychologist Sheila Grant advises that making the effort to really understand your client's values enables you to better understand what she needs from you. Just listen. Don't share your values or opinions. Ask questions about why she feels the way she does only if you need a deeper understanding to find common ground or to understand what she needs in terms of her values. This will help you help her, and that's more important than furthering your cause or changing her mind.

    Sometimes no amount of listening, learning or focusing on your client helps. If your values clash so profoundly with your client's that you feel sick when her appointment nears or her goals seem truly abhorrent to you, it's time to refer. But, be careful with how you do it. Experts such as Williams advise you to assure your client that you are referring her to someone "better equipped" to meet her particular needs and that you will be available to work as a team if needed. This communicates that you are taking the best possible care of her rather than you can't stand to work with her a minute more. Even if the latter is true, you don't want to hurt her - or your reputation as a competent professional. After all, a Facebook post about how helpful you were in matching her with the perfect person to get her needs met is so much better than one about how judgmental you were.