Fighting Workplace Negativity: Signs, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Remedy

Being with a negative person is hard enough. Being with a negative person at work is hard to overcome. It is stressful. When negativity contaminates an office, it may as well be called a staff infection because it is highly contagious, spreads quickly and no one is immune. I have seen the damage that negativity inflicts on a medical practice from just day-to-day unpleasantness to actually losing good staffers. In the middle, there is plenty of conflict, drama, disruption, discrimination, inefficiency and low morale.

That is just a sample of what can negativity can do but what does it look like? What are some of the signs and symptoms? A negative person:

• focuses on the dark, unconstructive side of things and points them out to others;
• sets a damaging, contrary tone that drains energy from co-workers;
• has an excuse for everything;
• is complaining, critical and controlling;
• rarely offers a genuine smile and is never wrong (in their minds); and
• is judgmental, uncooperative and just plain difficult to be around.

We all know someone, right? If you have been around an individual who fits that description, you know it is challenging. Adversarial people are out there and identifying them is step one. Sometimes they are as obvious as the nose on your face. Other times, they are disguised as skilled workers whose poor attitude and disposition eventually gets in the way of their talent.

The question is this: If the intent is to create a warm, professional, customer service strong medical practice environment, why would anyone keep such a toxic individual like this on staff? You need to weed out these people because everyone, including patients, is affected.

Once you diagnose the problem as negativity, what then is the prescription that remedies this infection?

First and foremost, hire people who fit your current “positive” gene pool. Do not rush the process, do not settle for just anyone and do not let an applicant’s glorified resume overshadow his or her personality. Understand that you cannot expect positive outcomes if you (or your staff) are bombarded with negativity.

Next, do not avoid negativity. I understand that for most, evasion is the number one defense. If that is your approach, it is likely that the negative staffers will continue the behavior, causing good staff to resent covering their tasks, tiptoeing around them and causing general office pessimism.

Managers/doctors who acknowledge the problem and take the necessary steps will encourage a healthy work environment. This garners respect and appreciation that you are a team and someone has their back. Let’s not forget that a happy staff is a productive staff.

You probably have the most influential hand in creating positive energy simply by setting an example and being positive yourself. Say “good morning” when you arrive. Smile. Recognize and praise staff when deserved. Speak in the positive. At every opportunity, help staff turn a negative into a positive. For example, try to avoid saying “no” and when you hear, “I can’t,” suggest that staffers say “Here’s what I can do” instead.

Finally, reaffirm your expectations of behavior by enforcing your disciplinary policy. If you don’t have one, create one now. It is that important. Issue appropriate verbal and written warnings when warranted, and follow through with the consequence (termination) for employees’ behavior/actions if no effort of improvement happens. Time and again, those doctors who finally let their Negative Nellie employee go have confessed to me that it was like a weight being lifted for them and for their entire team. They always follow this by saying, “I should have done that a long time ago.”

I will leave you with this thought: You may not be able to control someone’s negative behavior but you can control how long you choose to participate in it. For the good of the practice, choose wisely.