ALT-1 Why People are so Negative in the Workplace
Many people feel negative about their job even during good times. In hard economic times, this negativity increases because workers are frustrated and feel trapped in a bad job because it is difficult to go and find another job. Why do negative feelings about work occur at all?
Negative feelings occur because workers feel undervalued by their employer. They do not feel that their employer recognizes or appreciates their efforts. A large organization, on several sites with 4,000 staff aware that a very negative attitude pervaded all their sites, commissioned an independent and anonymous survey of all workers on all sites.
The most common reason for staff unhappiness, surprised the management. It was that when workers did a bad job, someone always told them, but when they did a good job, or something extra-ordinary, or they went above and beyond their job description to the benefit of the organization, no one ever said “Thank-you and well done!” The survey asked workers to grade different kinds of employee recognition such as pay rises, vouchers to spend in stores or local attractions and simple words came out far above any tangible recognition benefit. Therefore, effective employee recognition need not cost the employer any money at all.
Some workers feel negative in the workplace because they feel underpaid for the work that they do. In many industries, workers have seen wage freezes, or even pay cuts, because of the current economic troubles. Many workers on the bottom rungs of the career ladder resent the fact that whilst they are suffering these pay freezes and cuts, those further up in the hierarchy still receive huge pay rises, bonuses and share options. They feel that the pain caused by economic downturn is not equally shared and that it is falling unfairly on those who do the real work.
During economically troubled times, many companies cut staff numbers. So many workers feel negative because they may be doing more work for less or the same pay; it is easy to understand the resentment of workers, who may be doing the work of two people but receiving the same, or lower pay, than they did when they only did their own work.
Workers are often overworked and over-whelmed because they are working much harder because of job cuts. Companies often expect the same amount or more work from far fewer employees. Overwork and the feeling of being overwhelmed by work causes stress and negativity.
Sometimes workers are negative in the workplace, simply because the workplace has a bad culture, one where bullying, gossip or backstabbing are rife. Sometimes bosses create a bad workplace culture, by encouraging an over-competitive atmosphere, bad management or just by shouting, screaming, and swearing at workers, in the mistaken belief that such behaviours increase productivity. They do not, they lower productivity because they frighten and discourage workers and make them doubt their ability and thereby encourage negativity and negative behaviour and attitudes.
During the economic troubles, many companies are cutting employee numbers. Workers usually get an inkling of the intention before they are officially informed. Workers generally know that something is going on. If no one is tells them officially for some time, rumours and speculation abound as workers talk about it. Workers frighten each other, as gossip goes round and round the workplace and feel increasingly more negative. Some managements in some organizations do this deliberately and spread terrible rumours about what is happening so they can get the workers to agree to a lesser evil. It is counter-productive and reduces productivity at the time and in the future. It saps workers’ confidence in the organization and makes them feel betrayed for years to come. They feel that their loyalty to the organization is not returned and, though they may not leave at the time, the situation sours their opinion of the organization permanently.
Negativity is infectious and one negative person in one department can cause a negative atmosphere throughout a company. Negative atmospheres in workplaces lowers productivity and thus company profits. When a workplace becomes a seething well of bitterness, anger, and resentment, negativity abounds. It is not good for companies and it is not good for workers.
