4 Ways To Reduce Workplace Negativity By Increasing Consistency

The following is a guest post by Marlene Chism.

Drama in the form of negativity happens for many reasons and not just because of personalities, or because of women bickering and gossiping at the water cooler. Often negativity exists because the structures currently in place do not support the massive changes taking place in the business. In other words the business is growing and changing and there is a need for increased structure to support and manage the change.

Yet another reason for negativity is due to our natural and biological response to change. The brain craves certainty, and when you feel uncertain, the almond shaped structure in the brain called the amygdala releases chemicals into the blood stream that you experience as fear, anxiety and doubt.

What leaders often forget is that employees feel the most uncertainty because they are the last to hear about the changes, and they had very little, if any, input regarding how to implement and navigate through the upcoming changes.

Leaders constantly tell employees to “embrace change” when the very changes they ask them to embrace are changes that threaten their sense of security or well being, at least from their perspective.

Providing consistency while navigating change can improve workplace relationships, increase trust and reduce negativity. Here are four ways to reduce drama by increasing consistency.

1. Provide regular updates
Drama increases in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty. The problem is that while the executive team has had three months to prepare for a big change, the employees never know about the change until it’s ready to happen.

From the employee’s point of view, they feel out of the loop, never knowing what to expect until the last minute. In these instances, the brain registers uncertainty as a threat, and when employees feel threatened they gossip, assume and make up stories.

To reduce the uncertainty, provide regular updates. Update them on how the state of the economy is expected to impact their job security. Update them on why you hired a new sales rep. Update them on when you are going to eliminate a product line and what they can expect.

Owners and executives often fear that if they share information it will create drama, assumptions and gossip, however the opposite is usually the case. When employees are informed of potential changes, they learn to trust the leadership and often they will give you new ideas you hadn’t thought of.

The risk of letting them know what is really going on is worth the price you will have to pay for the gossip, backstabbing and drama due to uncertainty.

2. Manage change
One of the biggest mistakes is to share the vision, but fail to report back the little successes that contributed to the forward movement of the vision. The result is employees get overwhelmed and experience burnout.

You will hear something to the effect, “No matter what I do, it’s never enough, and there’s no stopping place, so why try?”

The solution: Go ahead and share the big picture, then manage the change by breaking it down. In my book, “Stop Workplace Drama” I call this step “shorten the gap.” In other words, break down your big picture into realistic and measurable goals with dates for completion, then celebrate the success by reporting back to the group the impact of their contribution. In this way, you keep everyone motivated because they know their work matters. While you are managing the changes, make sure they know any changes in the rules and policies.

3. Let policy be the bad guy
Privately owned or family owned companies often put policies and standard operating procedures on the back burner for many reasons. For example they embrace flexibility, or they don’t have an HR person, or they don’t want to work in a stuffy corporate culture.

A big red flag that there is need for policies and procedures is when I hear a justification such as, “We are all adults here,” or “Does anyone really read the policies?”

As you grow, the lack of clear boundaries contributes to a lack of consistency, not to mention finger pointing and major misunderstandings.

When employees are not sure about the rules, you set your company up for a lot of unnecessary drama, all the way from complaining that something’s not fair, to a potential lawsuit due to bullying, sexual harassment or some other behavioral issue that could have been handled had the policy been in place and enforced.

Policies do not have to be complicated, dry, or hard to read. Just like the old saying “Good fences make for good neighbors,” good policies contribute to good workplace relationships. The key is enforcement, but you do have to have the policy in place to begin with.

4. Be fair
Letting your star performer break the rules or ignore policy contributes to negativity and a lack of trust. The only way to be fair is to make sure everyone operates from the same rule book and that everyone understands the expectations and consequences of not abiding by the rules.

Allowing even small exceptions will make you appear to be inconsistent which leads to a lack of clarity, which leads to confusion eventually resulting in being blamed for not being fair. Don’t set yourself up for this avoidable problem. Enforcing the policy helps you create consistent expectations while eliminating the excuses, manipulation and exceptions.

In conclusion, change can be extremely difficult and contribute to drama and negativity, or it can be experienced as an opportunity to grow your leadership skills and motivate your employees.

By understanding how to create a sense of consistency while navigating through the change, you reduce the stress level for everyone, and keep everyone rowing in the same direction.

Marlene Chism is a speaker, author and founder of The Stop Your Drama Methodology, an eight-part empowerment process to increase clarity and improve productivity and personal effectiveness. Marlene has a master’s degree in HR Development from Webster University and is the author of Success is a Given: Reading the Signs While Reinventing Your Life, as well as recently published Stop Workplace Drama. You can learn more about Marlene’s work at her website at www.marlenechism.com.

16 comments on “4 Ways To Reduce Workplace Negativity By Increasing Consistency

  1. The challenge with being fair is doing so sometimes will involve inconsistent results from consistent application of the same policies or principles. Not all people or situations are the same, so treating them as such would actually be unfair. Many workers don't seem to understand this.

    1. Actually, what I think Marlene is trying to say is not to treat everyone the same; rather, what she's saying is that everyone is held accountable by the same set of rules and guidelines. As much as leaders and their organizations desire results, it's more important that they make sure that employees respect the values and culture of the organization and not do things their way because that's what would allow them to get results.

      Applying the same rules to everyone doesn't mean we have to treat everyone the same; rather, it just means that we expect everyone to respect their obligations and how the organization goes about fulfilling their objectives.

  2. I must admit, as I was thinking about this a lot, I wasn't really going in the right direction.

    Now that I read this it makes me want to rethink some of my conclusions. I guess I was too easy on blaming people for not being able to embrace changes and thought that they were being rigid.

    This makes so much more sense. Thank you.

    1. You're welcome, Ana. One of the reasons I welcome writers like Marlene to share their insights on my blog is because I think their message and ideas will be of benefit to my readers. So I'm glad to hear you found this piece helpful and got you to rethink your own perception of how others view change.

    2. I am on the same boat as you Ana.
      Before, I was always thinking that there is nothing wrong with me and that the blame is all theirs. But then after sometime of thinking about it with myself and short talk with my best friend (who happened to be my co-worker also) and my wife, my mind was cleared. Sometimes, you just really have to look on both sides and accept changes as well.

  3. The idealist contributes to lack of consistency by starting out strong then losing momentum when the new wears off, or when realism sets in and resources are scarce.

    1. That’s a good point, Matt. I’m sure we’ve all experienced how high enthusiasm can be at the start of a new project when options seem endless and there are so many possible positive outcomes that can arise from the shared effort, only to see that enthusiasm wane when obstacles are encountered or reality sets in regarding how much work is involved.

      This is where Marlene’s second point on managing change comes into play because leaders can break down the process into smaller parts, giving their team small wins that will help keep them engaged in the process because they can see tangible gains from their efforts.

  4. In most cases,they tend to have what we call, "crab mentality". Well, its pretty normal for any company. But what I can contribute in this article is that, as for myself as an employee in a company wherein I am new and the company has 50-100 employees, I try to be honest, approachable as possible to my co-office mates, if I have something to ask, I ask right away to avoid misconception about what I'm doing. Best thing is that "good communication" to one another is the first thing and learn to trust each other and respect each other.

    1. Hi Joanne,

      I think you touched on the key element when you wrote how we need to treat each other with respect. When people know they are respected, it’s easier to open ourselves to trust others, and in particular the intentions others have behind the measures they are trying to push/implement. It also makes it easier to be more receptive to finding out why things are being done because you’re not coming at it from the perspective that your efforts, your team are under ‘attack’ or that someone is trying to sabotage your own efforts.

      This ties into Marlene’s first point about how leaders need to understand the perspective of their employees and by providing regular updates, they not only keep them informed, but demonstrate that they respect and value their employees and as such, want them to be active members of the process.

  5. Change is normal. All that Marlene stated are correct. Employees also have the contribution to make to help the business grow. Managers should provide proper meetings with regards to changes, discuss it properly and have employees express their thoughts about it especially when it is obvious that it will affect the employees and their work if the the company is inconsistent. Thank you Tanveer for sharing this. Stay inspired and more success!

  6. For point #3: I have seen several companies that start without policies, and then they are forced to implement very strict policies when they grow.

    Here’s the typical sequence:

    1- No policy at all until the company grows
    2- Very strict policy that lasts for a year or two
    3- Less strict policy that lasts for the lifetime of the company

  7. Yes, I totally agree with views on this post. Negativity within the workplace can arise due to various reasons and the most important one not being able to cope up with the developmental changes. Companies, at times, are not ready with strategies pertaining to their infrastructure, hierarchy system and work flow system. Making policies control the negativity might help a bit but not everytime.

    I like the user interface of this website and this site seems like a diary.

    1. Thanks Hendrik; glad you enjoyed this and thanks for the kind remarks about the website design; appreciate it.

  8. Hi Tanveer,

    This is a common issue seen with most employees within every company. When you are comfortable with a system and if there is a sudden change, may be a new development or a change in the present system, it takes time for people to cope up with it and the first thing which comes out is negativity. However, as you rightly, pointed out, it is important to produce consistency and maintain the positivity within the work place. I appreciate your idea on this.

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