Is Your Culture in Neutral?

When you visit any small business during your normal life routine it is always easy to determine if that business has a negative work environment.  If it is, you probably won’t be going back.  No one really wants to trade with a business where the climate is harsh.  How is it that the small business owner completely understands the effects of a positive work environment?

Everyone has reason once in a while to become negative at work. That’s just normal.  But when that negativity becomes a habit, everyone suffers and it will dramatically affect productivity.

Research has given us the following conditions that can lead to negativity in an organization:  

• Any major change not implemented well
• A history of rewarding poor performance and ignoring excellence
• The absence of a learning environment
• A challenge to stability
• One-size-fits-all approaches to individual motivation

 If your company is going through any of these issues, you need to keep a watchful eye out for negativity, it can cost upwards of $300 billion dollars a year in lost productivity.  It is up to executive leadership to recognize a bad condition and develop remedies to cure it. When negativity emanates from the executive suite, it is up to everyone to let them know as well. We know that’s not always easy, but without it, the downward tailspin the company can get into will be fatal for all. 

If you don’t know whether you are at the beginning of your tailspin, just walk around the workplace. Extreme negativity is palpable, positive energy is obvious.  Neutrality is just that…folks are in the middle, going through the day to day, not really negative but surely not positive either.  If you are in neutral, that’s a great time to start making changes to turn the organization into a positive place where people really want to be, not just have to be. Happiness doesn’t just feel good; it’s great for your bottom line.

To begin the process of becoming a positive workplace with highly engaged and responsive employees, here are some strategies.  They can help transform the company from the inside out:

Foster positive communication.  Language is important; make sure you replace any negative or critical language with a more favorable tone.  Just take a look at communication from management over the last month.  Single out the negative statements from the positive ones, and then put it into a ratio.  You might be surprised how easy it is to change.  Then make it a habit to do it.

Assist in building positive relationships.  Don’t focus on the mistakes, emphasize strengths over weaknesses and recognize positive performance whenever possible.

Associate all work being done with positive meaning.  Highlight the value and significance associated with the company’s performance and connect the outcomes with the core values of the employees.  

Encourage a positive climate. Make sure the positive emotions predominate over negative ones  Exhibit positive emotions and express gratitude regularly will inspire your employees to flourish. 

IN THE ABSENCE OF A POSITIVE FOCUS,

 A NEGATIVE CLIMATE WILL BE THE NORM

                                                    ….Dr. Stefani Yorges

We’ve all had days when 99% goes right, but we concentrate on only the 1% that went wrong.  Counter that tendency toward the negative with an overload of the positive!

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net