One of the greatest detriments to employee morale is negativity from other employees. Surveys have shown when employees at corporations are asked about “toxic” attitudes (negativity) and how they affect the workplace, most agree that it decreases morale and many say it also lowers productivity and raises stress levels. Negative attitudes are especially detrimental to sales teams, which tend to work more closely with one another than do other workplace teams. Even toxic attitudes in staff around the sales team can have a big impact on that team’s and the individual salesperson’s effectiveness.
Given the impact a negative attitude can have on the workplace, it’s important that it is confronted and dealt with immediately. The trick is knowing when and how to deal with it. Some negativity is short-term – perhaps the person is just having a bad day, has other things going on in his or her life that are impacting attitudes at work, or is otherwise just “bringing home to work with them.” Other times, the negative attitude stems from a legitimate gripe or workplace issue that needs to be addressed and the employee with the toxic attitude is merely the only one willing to voice an opinion where others stay silent. Finally, of course, there is the “terminally toxic” employee who is just negative as a rule.
Dealing with the short-term negative attitude may be as simple as giving the person half the day off, a sympathetic ear over lunch, or offering other help as appropriate. Often, co-workers already know where the toxicity stems from and it may not be affecting them as badly as it could be. This is the easiest form of negativity to deal with.
Likewise, negative attitudes stemming from legitimate gripes about the workplace, conditions, job requirements, or even pay scales is easily dealt with. Obviously, once the issue is known, it can be remedied, solving the problem. Some may take longer than others and sometimes, the gripe may fall into the “terminally toxic” category as the issue is more to do with the employee than the problem being voiced.
In the case of the terminally toxic employee, the best remedy is, sadly, to remove the problem by getting rid of the employee. This may seem harsh, but it’s very unlikely that the person’s skill set and talents outweigh their negative impact on the workplace. This is especially true in sales groups and their support staff. Sometimes, a person just isn’t a good fit with the team. It happens.
In all cases, negativity should be dealt with honestly and in an open way. The top reason employees enjoy a company or workplace is accountability is honesty from others they’re working with. Management should set the pace by being open, honest, and fully accountable to their employees. Above all, when issues are brought to you and negative attitudes bring about positive change, be sure to reinforce that with positive feedback.
No matter what you do, though, do not ignore negativity. It can destroy an organization faster than almost anything else can.