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Fair play nips workplace negativity
Every organisation would like to have a work force brimming with positive energy. They are well aware that a work force with the right attitude is the most valuable asset that can catapult a company to dizzy heights of success. No wonder efforts are on at every organisation to create employee centric policies and make the work environment as employee friendly as possible. However, in this era of high technology and low touch workplace relationships there is a lurking dange
r of workplace negativity raising its ugly head. Employee expectations from the job in terms of pay, benefits, career prospects and job satisfaction have increased manifold. Also the present day jobs are a lot more stressful than what they were even a decade ago. These are potential factors that breed workplace negativity. Employers should use early indicators to thwart negativity among the workforce.
Negativity starts as a simmering discontent and spreads like wild fire encompassing the entire workforce unless contained in time.
A handful of employees with negative outlook are enough to permeate the entire work environment with negativity. These are the people who view everything negatively. They don’t like their jobs, their boss, their work environment and in general every thing about their company.
They find some thing unfair in every policy of the company. Such negative talk has an impact on their co-workers. They slowly succeed in pulling other employees in to the quagmire of negativity over a period of time through repeated expression of negative sentiments. The worker morale and productivity get severely hampered when negativity spreads.
Sometimes negativity could arise from genuine reasons too. When the management takes decisions that have an adverse impact or it fails to address some legitimate concerns of employees, negativity engulfs the work force.
Research indicates that excessive work load, lack of confidence in the top management, insecurity about future, low salaries, monotony and insufficient recognition of efforts are some of the reasons for negativity to take roots.
Here are some tools that help in early detection of workplace negativity:
Annual appraisals: Use the annual appraisal review meeting as an effective means to assess the feelings of the employees. Elicit information on their opinions about policies framed and the work environment in general to effectively know their sentiments.
360-degree appraisals: Find how the employees perceive their bosses through a 360-degree appraisal system. Note if they want any changes in the managerial approach to solving problems.
Skip-level meetings: Skip level meetings help top management monitor the organisational pulse. Senior managers can skip some levels in the organisational hierarchy to directly interact with the employees on various matters pertaining to employee satisfaction and happiness.
This is better than relying exclusively on managerial feedback to get first hand information on employee perception of the various policies and practices.
Gossip management: Work place gossip is quite common but immediate action is necessary if the gossip doing rounds is negative and damaging. Keep track of employee discussions on blogs and the intranet.
Take action to remove the root cause of negativity:
If certain factors such as downsizing, cost cutting, heavy workload are leading to employee resentment, hold meetings with the staff to explain the situation. Elucidate how the company plans to tide over the difficult situation and the time frame. Dispel employee fears about future insecurity and enlist their support.
Take up trust building activities such as sharing information with the employees and involving employees in decisions that directly impact on them.
These measures curb negative gossip to a large extent. If you discover that a few employees have a negative attitude towards work during your one-on –one meeting with staff, arrange for immediate counseling sessions to turn them around.
Organising periodic seminars and training programmes on positive behaviour for the entire work force is a good idea to keep negativity at bay.
Transparency, fair play, HR counseling, prompt grievance removal and an appropriate system of rewards and recognition of efforts are the easiest ways to nip work place negativity in the bud.
Positive work force brings unparalleled business success. So use a multi-pronged action plan to arrest negativity and establish a positive work culture.
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N. PURNIMA SRIKRISHNA
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