Nothing affects employee morale more than persistent workplace negativity. It saps the energy of your organization and diverts critical attention from work and performance. Implementation of the following tips will help minimize negativity in the workplace.
Provide opportunities for people to make decisions about and control and/or influence their own job. The single most frequent cause of workplace negativity is traceable to a manager or the organization making a decision about a person’s work without their input. Almost any decision that excludes the input of the person doing the work is perceived as negative.
Make opportunities available for people to express their opinion about workplace policies and procedures. Recognize the impact of changes in such areas as work hours, pay, benefits, assignment of overtime hours, comp pay, dress codes, office location, job requirements, and working conditions.
Treat people as adults with fairness and consistency. Develop and publicize workplace policies and procedures that organize work effectively. Apply them consistently. As an example, each employee has the opportunity to apply for leave time. In granting his or hers request, apply the same factors to his or her application as you would to any other individual’s.
Do not create “rules” for all employees, when just a few people are violating the norms. You want to minimize the number of rules directing the behavior of adult people at work. Treat people as adults; they will usually live up to your expectations and theirs.
Help people feel like members of the in-crowd; each person wants to have the same information as quickly as everyone else. Provide the context for decisions, and communicate effectively and constantly.
Afford people the opportunity to grow and develop. Training, perceived opportunities for promotions, lateral moves for development, and cross-training are visible signs of an organization’s commitment to staff.
Provide appropriate leadership and a strategic framework including mission, vision, values and goals. People want to feel as if they are part of something bigger than themselves. If they understand the direction, and their part in making the desired outcomes happen, they can effectively contribute more.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/negativity_2.htm
You shared a lot of good points. I definitely agree that it is important to empower employees and allow them to feel important. I like having the opportunity to make decisions. I believe that I have many of the things at my job that you listed, and I think that is a big part in why I like my job so much, so I would say that it's not only about avoiding workplace negativity, but also improving morale.
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