Create An Atmosphere for Positive Change
A recent article by Anita Bruzese of the Arizona Republic stated “Asurvey last year from Vital Smarts indicated that 97 percent of employees describe themselves as having one of these five traits: ‘Lacking reliability, making not-my-job comments, procrastinating, resisting change or projecting a negative attitude.’ These definitely are not traits that you want your business to be built upon, are they?”
As an employer it is necessary to evaluate each employee separately as there maybe issues or extenuating circumstances that may not have been considered which could be contributing to their actions (such as being overloaded, under-appreciated, health issues, divorce, life stresses, or even a misunderstanding.) You might have a very loyal, hardworking, and caring employee, that needs some encouragement from you.
An invitation to discuss and/or review someone’s job duties, status in the office, future within the company, employee concerns, etc., can have a very positive end result and ‘clear the air’ of any negative thoughts and insecurities. Most of us look for and are drawn to positive and encouraging people. It may then stand to reason that someone who is exhibiting negative behavior could be drawn to someone who is encouraging and supportive.
As stated in Anita Bruzese’s article, “It is easy to complain, and even be part of this negativity. Do we realize what we are creating when we contribute or encourage this behavior? Do we typically want to avoid negative or complaining types? So why not work hard not to be one of them. Think of the missed opportunities for us to grow when we side on the negative. Not to mention the excitement and creativity that result from positive interactions.”
“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings”.
– Pearl S. Buck
