Avoid negative vibes at work

Mar 09, 2020

Lack of social skills, anger management and competence turn one into a toxic worker.

WORK   EMPLOYMENT

At some point in our careers, most of us have come across someone — a colleague or boss whose abrasive style or devious actions can make the workday utterly miserable. 

They bad-mouth you to work colleagues behind your back, they angrily demand the impossible from everyone, but themselves and they make unwanted comments about your attire. 

They infuse the air around them with such toxicity. They hurt morale, stoke conflict in the office and go as far as harming a company's reputation. 

Paul Nyende, a psychologist from the department of mental health and community psychology Makerere University Institute of Psychology says being a toxic worker stems from personality and shaping of an individual.

"Lack of social skills, anger management and competence also turn one into a toxic worker," Nyende says. 

Edith Anderu, a human resource manager at Uganda Development Co-operation, says people who are not contented with their salaries easily turn into toxic workers as a way of fighting back to get better remuneration. 

Others, she says, by turning aggressive want to have their service terminated prematurely so that they can make money out of their employers by suing. 

A working paper from Harvard Business School found that overconfident, self-centred, productive and rule-following employees were more likely to be toxic workers. 

They also found that people exposed to toxic workers on their teams had a 46% increased likelihood of being fired for misconduct. Nyende advises that negative and toxic people be avoided at all costs because negativity is contagious.

Managing unhappy employees

Leading a team is not easy. It requires specific skills that not everybody has. Even if you have the skills in spades, at some point, you will find yourself faced with the challenge of dealing with an unhappy employee.

If you handle this well, you may be able to turn an unhappy performer into a star employee who just needed a little attention and care.

If not, you could lose that same would-be star performer due to job dissatisfaction, or worse, find yourself facing legal action from a disgruntled employee. 

Assess the situation 

Before you jump to any conclusions, take the time to dig in and find out what is going on. Find out why they are upset. 

They could be upset with you, their current job status or another member of the staff. It is also possible that they are unhappy due to something unrelated to work. 

If the issue stems from something within your company, gather as much information as you can before deciding how to act. But even if it is a lifestyle factor influencing your employee's behavior, do not ignore it just because it comes from outside your four walls. 

Do not wait

The best time to address the situation was yesterday. The second best time is today. The longer you wait to address the issue after it has been identified, the more time it will have to fester, adding fuel to the fire. 

Additionally, after confronting the situation, it may be necessary to address the rest of the staff. If there is talk amongst your employees, nip rumors in the bud. 

Privacy is key 

While the staff as a whole may need to be addressed after the situation is resolved, initially, it is best to meet with the unhappy staff member one on one. 

This option not only protects you from the employee voicing their complaints for everyone else to hear, but also provides a perception of safety to the employee. 

They may be willing to disclose their real reason for unhappiness and a resolution may be reached in private. 

Cool temperature 

Working in a hot office is uncomfortable, whether you are referring to the temperature or to the levelheadedness of the bosses. It is more important than ever to keep your head on straight when handling an unhappy employee. 

If they begin to get upset, simply speak gently and allow them time to calm down. If the situation escalates, ask them kindly to remain professional.

If nothing seems to help, remove yourself from the situation and allow them space to express their anger privately. 

Employees who are not comfortable handling their emotions may need some time to process them alone before they are able to come back and have a professional conversation. 

It takes time 

As business professionals, we want to fix things immediately. While this is a great attitude to have overall, it does not work in every situation. 

A quick turnaround in employee morale can drive efficiency and productivity, but it is not always possible. 

Dealing with an unsatisfied staff member may take more than one meeting to iron out the problem.

Keep records 

Above and beyond all else, document your conversations, meetings and outcomes. This is for your safety and the employee's. It just might save you from a lawsuit.

Adopted from Entreprenuer.com

 

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