Negative work environments

Hy Resnick

It's no fun to come to work and face a negative work environment – working with needy and problematic young people is hard enough. But when the climate at your work place is a “downer”, it makes getting up in the morning and the driving to work difficult.

There are a number of types of such environments – three of which will be discussed in this column.

1. Gripe environment
In this work environment workers are always complaining about everything ““We don’t have the right (or enough) equipment or supplies” or “the meetings are so boring it hurts” or “Workers do little to try to improve things but seem content to gripe.”

2. Distrust environment
In this environment staff and management distrust each other. Even when the behaviors of one or the other are positive and constructive and are meant to improve things the motives of these behavioral efforts are questioned – for example, when management announces a 4% salary increase the staff wonders whether it should have been more (and of course sometimes it should)or they suspect that management is holding back some funds for their own raises. When workers make a suggestion to improve some aspect of the agency’s functioning management question the staffs motivation for this recommendation and turn it down.

3. Not in control of the kids environment
In this negative work place the staff and management have lost control of their young clients. The adults are fearful of setting limits and holding the clients accountable and responsible for their behaviors. They’re letting certain kids “rule the roost” and as a consequence unhealthy behaviors are beginning to appear amongst the kids including scapegoating the weaker kids (and staff too!), stealing, etc.

What to do if you’re in one or more of these environments
There are at least three strategies to deal with these negative work places -

the first, of course, is to quit and look for a job that has a constructive and positive work environment. Staff are reluctant go this route, feeling perhaps that they would be abandoning their kids, or possibly because of the uncertainty of finding another job.
The second is to form an action group of like-minded co-workers (there are always some who think like you do) to plan and implement a culture/climate improvement strategy.*
A third strategy that is easy to implement is to assume that others in your agency are doing the best they can, and focus on your own behaviors instead. This is something which can help improve your capacity to cope with negative environments, and this last strategy will be the focus of the rest of this column.

Focusing on your own behaviors
Although it might make sense to criticize others, negative responses to their work environment, that strategy might just add one more piece of negative baggage to an already overburdened organization. The best approach is to assume that your co-workers are doing the best they can and focus on your own behavior instead to make your work environment a little more pleasant.

Some suggestions

You do have a choice as to whether to let the negativism of others affect you. These others also have a choice and if they choose to be negative that’s their choice. As to how you want to be in your work place, you can make a choice that fits with who you are and what you need to function satisfactorily. So regardless of the overall negativism, you can be as positive as you feel right about.
Be aware that when you act positively or see events and announcements in a positive way, this might upset the current negative dynamic in the work environment. A possible consequence is that your co-workers may begin to review their own perspectives and attitudes. Indeed your behavior can serve as a model for others who may wish as you do to work in a more positive environment – and this can help them be more positive and optimistic.
Recognize that the most vocal negative responses are usually from those least satisfied. People who are positive or even neutral about things tend to be less vocal. So there may be more colleagues than you realise who think like you do, and you can help them “come out of the closet” by what you do and how you act. So keep your head up and look for allies.
Stay aware of the effect others have on you – this awareness can help you make conscious and rational choices about your response to them. Doing that will help you keep your own morale up. It’s your workplace too!

* This strategy will be discussed in next month's column.