Employee Survival Techniques 101 (PART II)

Building a positive workplace

Once you have information seeking techniques down, you can reduce uncertainty about people, tasks, and your ability. With that uncertainty reduced the next phase of surviving is developing relationships and a positive work environment. A negative work environment can be toxic to your self-esteem, emotional state, health, social life, and work ability.

I can tell you this from experience. I used to work in a franchise juice shop that was full of catty females and a supervisor that was out of touch of the situations. Gossip and uncooperative behavior making team work impossible and customer service terrible. It was every employee for themselves. If you are friends, or at least respectful and considerate of others work will feel less of a war zone and more like a cooperative space.

Here are some basic rules of thumb:

    1.   Be like honey not vinegar

Remember the idiom: You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Well it’s true.The more positive and friendly you are the more likely you will have people on your side and willing to work with you. You don’t want scare people with fear like Alice from Dilbert. Even she is delighted by positivity.

    2.   Practice good habits

         

The workplace is a community space. Noise, time, supplies, and more are shared with the rest of the department, so be respectful and considerate of your actions and ask others to be too.

Hold yourself accountable for your responsibilities as well. There are going to be times you’ll be ask to take on more responsibility or where you fail to complete something on time. Take responsibility for it. It builds trust, dependability, and shows integrity, all of which are positive characteristics to have and characteristics you’d want in your workplace. Lead the change.

    3.   Focus on positive qualities

We all have flaws, it’s human. If we focus on the other’s flaws, we are always going to be disappointed, annoyed, frustrated, etc. But if you focus on other’s positive characteristics, then you are focusing on what they can do and what they can bring to the workplace. It can help create more comfortable relationships, a more positive atmosphere, and uplift attitudes.    

   4.    Don’t gossip

That was so high school.  

    5.   Don’t let communication fail

Things break down when communication breaks down. We don’t all think, see, or know the same things. It’s important that you never fail to communicate. Make sure your co-workers and supervisors are informed and have a clear understanding of what you mean.