Ways to Eliminate Workplace Negativity
Hedley Lawson, Contributing Editor | Managing Partner | Aligned Growth Partners, LLC
N
egativity can be one of the most destructive forces that can impact an Eye Care Practice. Allowed to germinate and spread, it affects morale, teamwork and initiative and, in the end, your patients.
3. Offer Ample and Appropriate Recognition. Focus on the small successes as well as the large, and keep the praise and any critiques well separated. Don’t expect to change attitudes overnight. Positive perceptions are built over time.
Human Resource publisher B21 conducted a poll of the effect of negativity on 150 employers. Nearly half called it a “significant problem.”
4. Counsel the Complainers about the effect they’re having. Often employees with a negative attitude don’t realize how much their behavior influences others. Once they find out, they moderate their attitudes.
So why does workplace negativity develop? A study by international consulting firm Towers Perrin and behavioral researchers Gang & Gang, found these five reasons: 1. Excessive workload 2. Concerns about management ability 3. Worry about job and retirement security 4. Lack of challenge or boredom on the job 5. Perceived lack of recognition, both in pay and in other forms Some of these are immediately addressable; others require longterm solutions beyond the immediate resolution of an ECP owner or manager. Suggested ways to defuse negativity on a day-to-day basis include the following:
Using this information as a possible “call to action,” do plan act immediately and appropriately when workplace negativity surfaces in your practice. You and the rest of your team will be glad you did.
Hedley Lawson, Contributing Editor Hedley Lawson is Managing Partner of Aligned Growth Partners, LLC, advisors to boards of directors and management. He has decades of experience working in the optical industry and is a highly acclaimed senior global business and human resources executive, author and speaker. Hedley’s work as a business executive has been acclaimed by Fortune Magazine and Business Week. A frequent public speaker, Hedley has delivered over eighty key note speeches and seminars in the optical industry, to trade conventions, annual business and leadership meetings, and university business schools.
1. Practice Positive Management: How you look at things will dictate how your staff sees them. While being realistic, point out the positive in all situations. And remember to save any critical comments for a separate, private occasion. 2. Immediately Address Negativity. It will become stronger unless you acknowledge it exists and ask for ways to make things better. Be prepared to respond honestly to any suggestions you receive. While you may not win over a chronic complainer, others will appreciate your willingness to listen and provide answers.
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