Competition is at its peak. Survival is becoming difficult. However, some companies always hog the limelight and shine in their own spheres. With an impeccable track record, certain companies are always on their way up the profits graph. Recent surveys earthed certain interesting trivia about the successful and not-so successful companies. Amazingly, the infrastructure of the not-so unsuccessful companies is on par with the very successful companies. Talent, in human terms, is also not lacking in the poor performing companies. They follow the best talent management practices and offer the most attractive salaries to their employees. Such companies are digging to find the reason for the gap. The answer is an emerging concept called Learning Organization.
Organizations should fast transform into what is called as Learning Organization. The chief characteristics of a company that calls itself a learning organization are as follows.
1. Focus on growth over profits. Companies that focus on overall organizational growth and individual employee growth and development rather than concentrating on the short-term profits and increases in revenue. Companies encourage employees to indulge in what is called as self-development. Employees show enthusiasm to improve their skills and knowledge levels to excel in the sphere of their work and extend their expertise in related areas as well.
2. Knowledge sharing is the sole aim of the employees within the organizations. Employees are expected to frequently update the knowledge and share information with all the colleagues. In certain companies, information hoarding is considered a crime. Employees willing to grow and let others grow are the most sought after by such companies. Good team players make better leaders in the future. Companies are fast building upon the essence of team playing to groom good leaders in the future.
3. Attaining expertise is the singular goal of the executives at a learning organization. Employees are eager to master the various areas of work to creatively come up with innovative ideas to improve performance. Mastery of that particular field of work is not an easy task in the present situation of continuously evolving technological advances. The vast amount of information available on the internet is certainly helpful for individual employees to add to their knowledge base. Employees need to attend seminars, presentations, and workshops to showcase their knowledge and expertise.
4. Competitive effectiveness is the effort to constantly outperform competitors and ride on the success wave even in dire straits such as economic down turns. Continuous market analysis with constant focus on customer's interests ensures a perfect SWOT analysis to move ahead in the race. Competitive essence plays a vital role in determining the success of a company.
5. Differentiation between knowledge and skills. Apart from knowledge, continuous upgradation of skills is also essential. Skills with knowledge, dedication, and commitment make impossible goals simple to the organization. This attitude should be reflected by each employee across different levels of the hierarchy.
Companies have been bloating the fact that employees constitute their most important asset. It is easier said than done. Companies that signify the importance of human resources, hardly take steps to improve the human resources.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
The Lonely Worker
Loneliness is not a new term; the newness arises from its connection with the workplace. Who contradicts the fact that loneliness is the worst thing to happen to one at work? Being a social animal, man needs someone to interact with continuously. Informal interaction is more necessary to improve performance. It might be ridiculous to link employee performance with informal interactions and interrelationships. How is it possible for the HR personnel to identify people who are feeling lonely at the workplace? Two out of ten people always feel alone even in the crowd or in a noisy party. Ignoring such people, the HR personnel need to identify the lonely ones. One of the following situations can lead a person to be lonely.
1. They are aloof from the remaining staff. The place of work should not demarcate one employee from the other. Everyone should feel the warmth of being within the team. Physical distance can also impede productivity.
2. Mental distance due to an isolated role and responsibility. New positions are added everyday and a new employee might be completely alienated with the other workers with regard to the work flow. Special attention has to be focused on employees whose role is new to the organization. Constant restructuring should be done to make such people feel a part of the team.
3. Some persons are disinclined to move with the flock. Men who are basically vociferous but are isolated after certain situations have to be influenced to regain normalcy. Very soon, they end up getting frustrated with the team and the job.
4. Teams isolate certain people due to various reasons. If one of the employees is involved in a scam, it might happen that the team members feign enmity with such an employee and ignore him. Men learn from their mistakes. A forgiving attitude should be cultivated within the organization. Equality has to be ensured.
Once the reason for loneliness is identified, try to turn things around to make such people move in the organization and excel in their performance. A 4-step strategy can be devised to avoid loneliness and the consequential loss.
1. Recruitment & Selection. From the moment of first interview, the prospective employees should feel at home with the organization. HR personnel who gloat about the organization are sowing seeds of misinterpretation.
2. Orientation. Despite the welcome home strategies followed by big companies, most employees feel lonely when they begin work alone. Employees joining in groups are more comfortable and work effectively than singleton enrolments.
3. Staff Structuring. Try to constantly discuss the employee structure with the team leaders to ensure that everyone is a part of the team. Technological mapping software are available to relate to employees and tasks.
4. Even after the employees are aloof from the others, try to make them special by coming up with creative ideas to award them as the Most silent employee in the annual meetings.
Human resources management, indeed, is the most complicated task. Numerous people with varying attitudes from different cultures come together to work in an organization.
1. They are aloof from the remaining staff. The place of work should not demarcate one employee from the other. Everyone should feel the warmth of being within the team. Physical distance can also impede productivity.
2. Mental distance due to an isolated role and responsibility. New positions are added everyday and a new employee might be completely alienated with the other workers with regard to the work flow. Special attention has to be focused on employees whose role is new to the organization. Constant restructuring should be done to make such people feel a part of the team.
3. Some persons are disinclined to move with the flock. Men who are basically vociferous but are isolated after certain situations have to be influenced to regain normalcy. Very soon, they end up getting frustrated with the team and the job.
4. Teams isolate certain people due to various reasons. If one of the employees is involved in a scam, it might happen that the team members feign enmity with such an employee and ignore him. Men learn from their mistakes. A forgiving attitude should be cultivated within the organization. Equality has to be ensured.
Once the reason for loneliness is identified, try to turn things around to make such people move in the organization and excel in their performance. A 4-step strategy can be devised to avoid loneliness and the consequential loss.
1. Recruitment & Selection. From the moment of first interview, the prospective employees should feel at home with the organization. HR personnel who gloat about the organization are sowing seeds of misinterpretation.
2. Orientation. Despite the welcome home strategies followed by big companies, most employees feel lonely when they begin work alone. Employees joining in groups are more comfortable and work effectively than singleton enrolments.
3. Staff Structuring. Try to constantly discuss the employee structure with the team leaders to ensure that everyone is a part of the team. Technological mapping software are available to relate to employees and tasks.
4. Even after the employees are aloof from the others, try to make them special by coming up with creative ideas to award them as the Most silent employee in the annual meetings.
Human resources management, indeed, is the most complicated task. Numerous people with varying attitudes from different cultures come together to work in an organization.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Overcome Procrastination
With no one to blame at the end of the season when the deadline is fast approaching, I often realize that my procrastinating attitude has cost me a good project or assignment. It is human to feel lazy and postpone things. It is human to want to do something more interesting than the monotonous work at hand. Mostly, the work is monotonous because we have done it a good number of times and get the impression that we are fit to do something better. I have gone to the ridiculous extent of planning to go to a psychologist to avoid procrastination. Luckily, I met an old HR lecturer from my college who has come up with wonderful advice to avoid procrastination and enjoy your work. It sounded similar to the literature available, but its simplicity really bowled me over.
The first important thing to be dealt with is the forgetting attitude. We tend to forget things after procrastination. So, if we can avoid forgetting things, procrastination is not a difficult thing to deal with. My lecturer told me like this. The human brain is most active in the first few minutes as we wake up in the morning. Whatever happens then is remembered well for the rest of the day and even more than that. The brain also sends positive vibes across the body immediately after we wake up. So, we need to make the list of things that we have been postponing of late every night before sleeping. As soon as you wake up, you need to say yourself- I love to do this work today. This work refers to the most irritating and complicated thing that you have been postponing till date. You need to say it at least ten times to yourself even before you are out of your bed. That has the maximum impact and you will be startled how easily you get to do the work on the same day.
Division of work is the other important way in which we can avoid procrastination. Scientists suggest that our brain requires at least 5 minutes break after working for every 25 minutes. This is necessary to rejuvenate the energy cells and regain the interest that we are doing. Normally, filled with zeal to complete things, we work continuously for hours sans any break. By doing so, very soon we will dread the work because the information is registered in the brain that it takes so long for that work to get completed without any break. Your brain works in the way you want it to. So break your work to enjoy every 5 minutes after a hectic 25 minutes work.
Man is a creature of reason. We do not do anything without any reason. I earn to make my ends meet and provide my family with whatever is necessary to lead a happy life. I have got the reason to work. Happiness is the reward towards which I am aiming and struggling so hard. Similarly, for every little work that you do, present a reward for yourself so that the sub-conscious mind is eager to complete the work to fetch the reward. You will be amazed at the perfection and speed with which you can complete your work for the sake of a reward. I present myself with a wonderful lunch at a good restaurant for having completed a difficult assignment in a short period of time. I even buy a book for myself for having done a particular work. You can plan your little or big rewards to keep your mind on the track.
The other place where everyone falters is the inability to prioritize things. We are confused as to what is important and what is not at certain junctures. You can follow your superior's instructions to avoid the dilemma. If there is no instruction from the superior or if you have no superior, you have to understand the important work that will ensure smooth flow of organization production process and complete it first. Such things are easier said than done. However, you learn to prioritize things by experience. It is better to experiment a lot in the initial stages to understand the nuances of the various processes in your organization.
Enhance your knowledge every frequently to know the short-cuts necessary to complete a particular work. Technological developments are saving a lot of time and a constant updating of skills is necessary to benefit from these developments. We procrastinate when we find that the particular job is lengthy and boring. With experience and technology in the right mix, you can devise ways to make your job easier for yourself and for others.
It is very obvious that procrastination is a very trivial issue and can be easily overcome.
The first important thing to be dealt with is the forgetting attitude. We tend to forget things after procrastination. So, if we can avoid forgetting things, procrastination is not a difficult thing to deal with. My lecturer told me like this. The human brain is most active in the first few minutes as we wake up in the morning. Whatever happens then is remembered well for the rest of the day and even more than that. The brain also sends positive vibes across the body immediately after we wake up. So, we need to make the list of things that we have been postponing of late every night before sleeping. As soon as you wake up, you need to say yourself- I love to do this work today. This work refers to the most irritating and complicated thing that you have been postponing till date. You need to say it at least ten times to yourself even before you are out of your bed. That has the maximum impact and you will be startled how easily you get to do the work on the same day.
Division of work is the other important way in which we can avoid procrastination. Scientists suggest that our brain requires at least 5 minutes break after working for every 25 minutes. This is necessary to rejuvenate the energy cells and regain the interest that we are doing. Normally, filled with zeal to complete things, we work continuously for hours sans any break. By doing so, very soon we will dread the work because the information is registered in the brain that it takes so long for that work to get completed without any break. Your brain works in the way you want it to. So break your work to enjoy every 5 minutes after a hectic 25 minutes work.
Man is a creature of reason. We do not do anything without any reason. I earn to make my ends meet and provide my family with whatever is necessary to lead a happy life. I have got the reason to work. Happiness is the reward towards which I am aiming and struggling so hard. Similarly, for every little work that you do, present a reward for yourself so that the sub-conscious mind is eager to complete the work to fetch the reward. You will be amazed at the perfection and speed with which you can complete your work for the sake of a reward. I present myself with a wonderful lunch at a good restaurant for having completed a difficult assignment in a short period of time. I even buy a book for myself for having done a particular work. You can plan your little or big rewards to keep your mind on the track.
The other place where everyone falters is the inability to prioritize things. We are confused as to what is important and what is not at certain junctures. You can follow your superior's instructions to avoid the dilemma. If there is no instruction from the superior or if you have no superior, you have to understand the important work that will ensure smooth flow of organization production process and complete it first. Such things are easier said than done. However, you learn to prioritize things by experience. It is better to experiment a lot in the initial stages to understand the nuances of the various processes in your organization.
Enhance your knowledge every frequently to know the short-cuts necessary to complete a particular work. Technological developments are saving a lot of time and a constant updating of skills is necessary to benefit from these developments. We procrastinate when we find that the particular job is lengthy and boring. With experience and technology in the right mix, you can devise ways to make your job easier for yourself and for others.
It is very obvious that procrastination is a very trivial issue and can be easily overcome.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Ways to enhance "Brand Equity"
A brand encompasses the set of expectations associated with a product or service in the minds of the consumers. The branding process is the most complicated process. Marketers have tried various strategies to brand particular items and some of them have succeeded in branding their items to perfection. The more associations a customer is able to make with the brand, the higher the Brand Equity of the product.
Brand Equity can be viewed from different perspectives including financial perspective, extensions, & consumer attitude perspective.
With regard to the financial perspective, we can measure the Brand equity by comparing the price premium with a generic product. However, it has to be remembered that there are 4 Ps of marketing and Price is just one of them. Promotion is fast dominating the other Ps in influencing the sale of the product. However, it is the judicial mix of all the 4Ps that is essential to successfully market a product.
The MORE factor is catching up. People are asking for more of everything. Gone are the days when people are satisfied with what they have. They want more for little ever they want to pay. Marketers have begun this concept of using a successful brand to launch another product. In the Indian market, a yet to be released product is given free-of-cost in the form of sample sachets along with a successful brand.
To influence the consumer attitude, marketers are aiming at glorifying the experience of the product. It is the trial samples mentioned earlier that are more effective in giving an experience than the colorful advertising commercials featuring hot models and top film stars. Consumer's experience adds to the perceived quality and ensures brand loyalty. If a consumer is happy and delighted with a product, there are many chances that the information is soon spread through an effective word-of-mouth. It is the most effective promotional tool always overtaking the advertising commercials and newer marketing collaterals.
Some ways to increase brand equity include:
1. Associating the brand with the right brand ambassadors. Recently, there have been many ads with ambassadors with no relation to the product or no use of the product. We need to come out of the days when beautiful models are used to advertise men's shaving cream without any man in the commercial. Creativity should not sideline the target audience.
2. Newer needs are to be created. The needs here refer to the psychological needs for the consumer. The flaunting episodes have come to an end. The brand attitude should reflect a particular ago state common to most of the people and effectively portray in the promotional mix.
3. Even brands should be treated like human beings. The way a successful celebrity is treated and the response generated from the audience is always a lesson to the marketers. Managers and marketers should learn to respect their brands and let the consumer do the same. In this way, a brand culture can be established. The company should continue the product quality and always strive to delight the customers to ensure that the brand does not disappoint the consumer like a top star's flop film.
Brand Equity can be viewed from different perspectives including financial perspective, extensions, & consumer attitude perspective.
With regard to the financial perspective, we can measure the Brand equity by comparing the price premium with a generic product. However, it has to be remembered that there are 4 Ps of marketing and Price is just one of them. Promotion is fast dominating the other Ps in influencing the sale of the product. However, it is the judicial mix of all the 4Ps that is essential to successfully market a product.
The MORE factor is catching up. People are asking for more of everything. Gone are the days when people are satisfied with what they have. They want more for little ever they want to pay. Marketers have begun this concept of using a successful brand to launch another product. In the Indian market, a yet to be released product is given free-of-cost in the form of sample sachets along with a successful brand.
To influence the consumer attitude, marketers are aiming at glorifying the experience of the product. It is the trial samples mentioned earlier that are more effective in giving an experience than the colorful advertising commercials featuring hot models and top film stars. Consumer's experience adds to the perceived quality and ensures brand loyalty. If a consumer is happy and delighted with a product, there are many chances that the information is soon spread through an effective word-of-mouth. It is the most effective promotional tool always overtaking the advertising commercials and newer marketing collaterals.
Some ways to increase brand equity include:
1. Associating the brand with the right brand ambassadors. Recently, there have been many ads with ambassadors with no relation to the product or no use of the product. We need to come out of the days when beautiful models are used to advertise men's shaving cream without any man in the commercial. Creativity should not sideline the target audience.
2. Newer needs are to be created. The needs here refer to the psychological needs for the consumer. The flaunting episodes have come to an end. The brand attitude should reflect a particular ago state common to most of the people and effectively portray in the promotional mix.
3. Even brands should be treated like human beings. The way a successful celebrity is treated and the response generated from the audience is always a lesson to the marketers. Managers and marketers should learn to respect their brands and let the consumer do the same. In this way, a brand culture can be established. The company should continue the product quality and always strive to delight the customers to ensure that the brand does not disappoint the consumer like a top star's flop film.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Audience Analysis in Technical Documentation
All of us do it every day and every moment. We try to guess what is in the mind of the person we are speaking to. Even before we speak, sub-consciously doubt if the listener knows what we are speaking. We like to give him the right information. Advertising agencies spend millions of bucks to research the consumer behavior and understand the mindset of the audience. They initially try to attract attention and then attempt to win the customer’s hearts in various ways. Filmmakers try to gaze the taste of the audience and make films that set the audience on their nerves. Obviously, whatever you do, wherever you go, the customer is the Queen. In marketing parlance, the customer is referred to as the Queen because it is easier to appease the Gods and the King. Truly speaking, audience analysis in technical documentation is a lot easier than the other fields.
Purposeful approach
We make documents to serve a purpose. It is the purpose that defines what document we need to make for the audience. If the user is new to the product and knows nothing, we need to make a step-to-step user guide. For sophisticated users, a briefing about the product and the options available would be enough. This makes it clear that the purpose and the knowledge level of the audience together form the primary part of audience analysis. Knowledge level can be guessed by asking questions such as:
What does the user know and what is it that the document should impart?
What level of detail is required for the user to neither get confused nor irked by including basic information?
Knowledge Level
It is difficult to know what the users know. There is always a difference in knowledge levels even between two students who graduated from the same school. In order to pacify both experts and novices, we can follow the safer approach. Assume that the user does not anything about this particular product but knows about everything else under the sky. Under such circumstances, we can elaborate upon our product to make the job easier for the user.
Relevance matters
We need to include all the relevant information about the product from installing the product, configuring it, using it, maintaining it to troubleshooting it in times of necessity. The functionality of the product should be detailed in tune with the knowledge levels of the user as assumed. It is not advisable to include any information outside the arena such as information about the industry.
With an air of authority, the technical document should complete all the areas about the document and must be sans voids. Any user is comfortable to refer to the document that covers everything about a product in spite of his knowledge about the product. Being nonchalant to the expert will often prove to be risky. Hence tell everything about the product gives them a choice to ignore parts of the document that they already know.
Purposeful approach
We make documents to serve a purpose. It is the purpose that defines what document we need to make for the audience. If the user is new to the product and knows nothing, we need to make a step-to-step user guide. For sophisticated users, a briefing about the product and the options available would be enough. This makes it clear that the purpose and the knowledge level of the audience together form the primary part of audience analysis. Knowledge level can be guessed by asking questions such as:
What does the user know and what is it that the document should impart?
What level of detail is required for the user to neither get confused nor irked by including basic information?
Knowledge Level
It is difficult to know what the users know. There is always a difference in knowledge levels even between two students who graduated from the same school. In order to pacify both experts and novices, we can follow the safer approach. Assume that the user does not anything about this particular product but knows about everything else under the sky. Under such circumstances, we can elaborate upon our product to make the job easier for the user.
Relevance matters
We need to include all the relevant information about the product from installing the product, configuring it, using it, maintaining it to troubleshooting it in times of necessity. The functionality of the product should be detailed in tune with the knowledge levels of the user as assumed. It is not advisable to include any information outside the arena such as information about the industry.
With an air of authority, the technical document should complete all the areas about the document and must be sans voids. Any user is comfortable to refer to the document that covers everything about a product in spite of his knowledge about the product. Being nonchalant to the expert will often prove to be risky. Hence tell everything about the product gives them a choice to ignore parts of the document that they already know.
Switching Careers
The idea of switching careers arises when you are in dire need of complete change. It is important to do a great amount of introspection. Even after that, if you find that you are working only for money and losing on your hopes and aspirations, you can decide to switch to a new career.
It is always advisable to have a broad outlook when you think of switching careers. It would be short-sighted to shift to similar careers. Both your skills and interests should be taken into consideration. Here again, you need to have clarity in your motives. You have to decide whether you are looking for a change in careers, environment, or industry. Each change has its own implications.
You can begin by identifying the crests and troughs of your work history. The gap between your expectations and your current job can help understand the reason for despair. A complete analysis of your own skills in line with your aspirations is useful to prepare a background for your next job. You can begin the switching process though research. You should delve into the various fields that interest you. It is necessary to consider the vulnerability of the fields themselves. You can't plan to get into a typewriter's chair after the computers have come just because you like it. A complete SWOT analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats) helps you identify the right career ahead for you.
You need a strategy, not just a plan when you want to shift to a new career. People are in a hurry once they have decided that they are bored in their jobs. You can begin by assessing your likes and dislikes. Most people, who feel that the creative part of their brain is not utilized, decide to change to a more creative work. Others, who have goals to serve humanity, plan to go in their preferred path. If you can identify any singular goal within, there is no looking back. Such work kindles the real potential within you. After recognizing your passion, a research should be done into the various careers that relate to it. If you are confident of your writing skills, you can find that there are various avenues like copywriting, technical writing, content editing, journalism, and much more. Software programmers who are interested in writing can begin their transition by first getting in as technical writers.
Your current skills and experiences might be helpful for building your new career. Leadership skills, interpersonal skills, & communication skills are always transferable. They are applicable to whatever field you plan to enter into. Whether you want to change your career or start a new journey, networking is always helpful. Friends or acquaintances can provide job leads, offer useful insights and information about an industry. They can also increase your network by introducing you to others.
Since you are planning to start it all from scratch, it would be enormously useful to do a part-time job or volunteering in the new career of your choice. You can have a taste of the work and add the experience feather. Any person, who is interested in writing, can begin it with part time freelancing. It might even be necessary to burn the midnight oil to gain the experience. Finding a mentor may help you avoid the troubles. You can even take advantage of his network and power. Even though it happens rarely, you can consider the idea of changing your career within the organization. It is always suggested to pitch in for any vacancies with the current employer in the field of your choice. Flexibility with regard to employment status, relocation, & pay structure is also necessary.
It is always advisable to have a broad outlook when you think of switching careers. It would be short-sighted to shift to similar careers. Both your skills and interests should be taken into consideration. Here again, you need to have clarity in your motives. You have to decide whether you are looking for a change in careers, environment, or industry. Each change has its own implications.
You can begin by identifying the crests and troughs of your work history. The gap between your expectations and your current job can help understand the reason for despair. A complete analysis of your own skills in line with your aspirations is useful to prepare a background for your next job. You can begin the switching process though research. You should delve into the various fields that interest you. It is necessary to consider the vulnerability of the fields themselves. You can't plan to get into a typewriter's chair after the computers have come just because you like it. A complete SWOT analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats) helps you identify the right career ahead for you.
You need a strategy, not just a plan when you want to shift to a new career. People are in a hurry once they have decided that they are bored in their jobs. You can begin by assessing your likes and dislikes. Most people, who feel that the creative part of their brain is not utilized, decide to change to a more creative work. Others, who have goals to serve humanity, plan to go in their preferred path. If you can identify any singular goal within, there is no looking back. Such work kindles the real potential within you. After recognizing your passion, a research should be done into the various careers that relate to it. If you are confident of your writing skills, you can find that there are various avenues like copywriting, technical writing, content editing, journalism, and much more. Software programmers who are interested in writing can begin their transition by first getting in as technical writers.
Your current skills and experiences might be helpful for building your new career. Leadership skills, interpersonal skills, & communication skills are always transferable. They are applicable to whatever field you plan to enter into. Whether you want to change your career or start a new journey, networking is always helpful. Friends or acquaintances can provide job leads, offer useful insights and information about an industry. They can also increase your network by introducing you to others.
Since you are planning to start it all from scratch, it would be enormously useful to do a part-time job or volunteering in the new career of your choice. You can have a taste of the work and add the experience feather. Any person, who is interested in writing, can begin it with part time freelancing. It might even be necessary to burn the midnight oil to gain the experience. Finding a mentor may help you avoid the troubles. You can even take advantage of his network and power. Even though it happens rarely, you can consider the idea of changing your career within the organization. It is always suggested to pitch in for any vacancies with the current employer in the field of your choice. Flexibility with regard to employment status, relocation, & pay structure is also necessary.
Negativity at the Workplace
The financial performance of a company is heavily influenced by the emotions of the employees. Strong positive emotions ensure better financial results while negative emotions tend to increase the turnover rates. Negative emotions or negativity hinder growth, productivity and overall happiness at the workplace. Negativity tends to threaten the future of the company and its employees. It is very contagious and can soon spread across the various echelons of hierarchy in an organization. Negative behaviors can sometimes have serious business impacts.
Right diagnosis helps in curing the existent negativity. If a company misinterprets the underlying causes, there are many chances for its efforts to boomerang. The causes should be carefully identified and the problems should be immediately addressed. Recent human resource studies suggest that work overload is one of the significant reasons for workplace negativity. The most common cause for negative emotions is the lack of sufficient recognition for the efforts put in. Monotony in the nature of the work and boredom are said to increase frustration. The other reason is the presence of a huge gap between employees’ expectations of their work and their actual work. Numerous techniques are available to combat negativity. These techniques help maintain a healthy organizational culture.
Individual perspective
Trivial issues such as technical snags at work and irate customers can frustrate. However, when negativity becomes an everyday companion, it impedes creativity and enthusiasm and can go to the extent of creating perpetual negative attitudes. It reflects the greater problems beyond the control of the individual and harms the effectiveness of the employee.
1. The individual has to recognize his negative thoughts and try to act upon them.
2. Managing stress plays an important role.
3. Communication with managers and coworkers often helps resolve many issues.
4. An optimistic outlook towards work life is a successful antidote in many cases.
5. Employees should be averse to gossip and rumors.
6. It is not obstinate to completely avoid negative people at work. Saying no or walking away from negative vibes is always advisable.
Organizational/HR staff perspective
To prevent negativity at the first place is better than trying to cure the framework later. The leaders and managers can consider the following factors to avoid negativity from appearing.
1. Employees should be involved in the process of decision making. People become pessimistic when unfavorable decisions about their jobs are taken by the superiors. They are more frustrated if the decisions are taken without their input.
2. All the employees should be able to voice their opinions regarding company policies and procedures. The motivational factors such as pay, benefits, & working conditions should be carefully dealt with.
3. Rules should not be enforced on employees. They are all mature enough to recognize the norms and follow them.
4. Communication gaps add more fuel to the fire. Transparency in information flow is always helpful.
5. The team leaders or organizational leaders should be able to imbibe the missions, visions, values, and goals of the organization into every individual.
6. Proper rewards for contribution enhance job satisfaction for each employee. The overall morale can also be enhanced through a justifiable rewards system.
Creating a learning environment always helps solve all negativity problems. In a learning organization, employees learn to identify their job as a part of a whole interdependent system. This attitude is useful to enhance job satisfaction. Every employee shares the mission of the organization and strives to reach his potential. Clarity in objectives can be achieved and individuals can take part in the decision making process.
Interestingly, most of the successful teams and companies have few things in common - a common goal, result oriented structure, unity in commitment, collaborative climate & good leadership.
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