You’ve probably heard the old motivational saying, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” It might seem cliché, but it’s true. Attitude in the workplace is everything. Consistent negativity has a very real impact on a team’s ability to perform, and it’s important to get a handle on it before a bad attitude ruins the bottom line.
“Entitlement is a problem, so be grateful all the time and you will have an attitude shift. Make it a habit to say thank you “often” and see if you can modify your approach to serve others without asking for anything in return. Your attitude will automatically improve, and others will notice. Entitlement is a bad habit so ditch it!” says Sharon Tsao, CMO, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
Nobody Likes A Negative Nancy
People aren’t necessarily judged by the quality of their work, but the quality of their interactions with others. The fact of the matter is that a rock-star employee with a bad attitude is harder to work with than a low performer with a sunny disposition. Someone who consistently projects negativity is dragging the rest of your team down. They make it hard for others to stay positive, people avoid dealing with them, and it creates a lag on overall productivity.
Negativity Spreads Faster Than Positivity
Negative attitudes are contagious. All it takes is one person to drag an entire team into the mud. This is often true when implementing change. A single loud resister can have an impact on whether the rest of the team embraces the change. As the old saying goes, misery loves company and someone with a consistently negative attitude will pull the rest of the group down, rather than lifting them up.
Negativity Damages Customer Relationships
Customers who have bad interactions with a negative employee could be costing sales and relationships. People in customer-facing roles become the company to the customer they are speaking. When someone receives poor service, they will assume the company does not care about their business. Everyone is entitled to a bad day now and then, but someone who projects negativity consistently around customers will ultimately harm the company.
Negativity Erodes Trust
In order for teams to function well together, they must trust one another. A negative attitude can quickly breed distrust between coworkers if they feel they can’t count on each other to pitch in and get the job done. Positivity promotes trust and teamwork and keeps everyone pulling in the same direction.
Negativity Leads To Turnover
The ironic twist is that people with bad attitudes will voice their dissatisfaction with the company over and over again, without doing anything to make a change. Meanwhile, your happy employees will become so exhausted by the negativity, that they will ultimately be the ones to leave. If you want a team of positive people, you have to step in and deal with bad attitudes quickly, or you’ll be left with a team of whiners, complainers, and slackers.
“Emotional Intelligence impacts the workplace and those with high emotional intelligence know how to control themselves. They don’t cry, they don’t have a fit, they don’t bring a poor attitude to the table. They know how to preface an answer to a question that is intended to bring drama with a softer response that starts with: “great question and I am glad you asked”…which allows them to properly think through a professional answer that stops the bad attitude and brings everyone back to real solutions that will move the business forward,” says Marybel DiScala, Digital Marketing Leader, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
If you are looking to build a team of positive contributors who welcome new challenges, Contemporary Staffing Solutions can help. As a nationally-recognized expert in recruiting and staffing, we can help you cultivate a team of winners. Contact us today to learn more.
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Contemporary Staffing connects job seekers to hiring managers nationally in the following professions: Accounting & Finance, Call Center & Office, Human Resources, IT, Salesforce, and Sales & Marketing.