How can workplace negativity be minimized in an organisation?

Opportunities should be provided for people to make decisions about and control and/or influence their own job. The single most frequent cause of workplace negativity I encounter is traceable to a manager or the organization making a decision about a person’s work without her input. Almost any decision that excludes the input of the person doing the work is perceived as negative.

I viewed HR point of view from the above arguments. But as an outsider (apart from HR background) my view point varies. for success of any company it s the organization which really matters. At each level there will be negative influences, which will change the working atmosphere at that particular section\dept\div. Here, main reasons would be invovlement, oppurtunity, attitude and thnking-way varies with different person. As an HR apart from the Job-specific activity carried out from the department, HR should have training module(both internal and external) to align thinking of member towards company vision & mission. Counsel the member through solving his problem. Surely, maximum negativety lies with concerns towards their growth in organization.

There should me more transparency in work flow. processes and decision making.

Opportunities should be made available for people to express their opinion about workplace policies and procedures. The impact of changes in such areas as work hours, pay, benefits, assignment of overtime hours, comp pay, dress codes, office location, job requirements, and working conditions should be recognised.

These factors are closest to the mind, heart and physical presence of each individual. Changes to these can cause serious negative responses. Provide timely, proactive responses to questions and concerns.

Help people feel like members of the in-crowd; each person wants to have the same information as quickly as everyone else. They should be provided the context for decisions, and should be communicated effectively and constantly.

If several avenues or directions are under consideration, communicate all that you know, as soon as you know it. Reserve the right to change your mind later, without consequence, when additional factors affect the direction of ultimate decisions.

Continual exposure to the Artificial Lighting, during the day, constant inhalation of Bacteria & Fungi ridden 'conditioned-air' are the Two main causes for the work-place tension.  This is, further, precipitated by the inhalation of the harmful odors of the ‘Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)’ of the Paints, Sealants and other adhesives used for the finishing of the indoor surfaces, the furniture, etc..

This can be avoided by creating clean indoor environment, by allowing in ample day-light, fresh air through proper ventilation & cross-ventilation and by flushing-out the VOCs out of the building, before it is occupied and reduce the usage of the conditioned air to the bare minimum possible by discouraging the Solar Heat Gain into the Indoors.  In other words, go for Green Office Building. 

Equality and equanimity, encouraging and accepting feasible opinions and continuous efforts to instill positive attitudes

Organisations can have 360 management mechanisms where in

1. Appraisals

2. Feedback

3. Decision Making

are done via inputs from both the superiors and the subordinates.

This way each and every employee

1. Can be sure that he is not the only one on the receiving end in appraisals

2. Can have his views heard

3, And thinks that he is considered part of the organisation.

workplace negativity is just not the matter of negativity in the environment bcoz of the nature.  I feel negatity in the workplace is harmful which arises in the mind of the employee.  It can be minimised by giving opportunities, sharing information with the employees, try to give equal treatment to staff if they are working at the same level.  Do appreciation in front of all employees during meetings.  Appreciation could be in any way in terms of monetary benefits, promotion, power, authority.  I feel a person carries his responsilibity powerfully is he or she has the authority and power....

when employees are not having hand ful of work, work negitivity develops. so it is to b e better suffieciently work loaded as per the capabilities.by this we can reduce the work negitivity and cheap politics between employees

For reducing nagativity at workplace it is necessary to involve a person of that functional area who are leader by giving more authority and responsibilty to make change.

reduces negativity

In big corporates it is not possible for management to regularly interact with employees however for mid size companies it is possible every quarter or every 6 months management should seek report from HR on what each employees goals are(personal professional & just personal), challenges faced in work internally or externally. Management then can have one to one discussion with each employee even if their staff strength is 100, to avoid negativity in office & also probably decrease pressure on him/her of any kind, encourage them to work more smarter & harder & this interaction will also give them confidence of company is really interested in having them & is interested in solving their problems. Every 2 employees have cold war going on & it is duty of HR to see to it that this does not effect effect company in any way, & individuals performance also.

I have seen(experienced) HR is very much aware about cold war but they express negligence saying it is personal matter but HR probably does not understand because of this company suffers.

There is a half day corporate training program conducted by ValuePoint Academy Bangalore on Attitude Management. This is strongly recommended. As far as I know this is the only program in the country dealing with this subject.

Negativity is an attitudinal issue which can only be dealt with by analysing the thought process that contributes to a belief system that creates expectations. To fructify these expectations employees behave in a particular way. Negativity is a behaviourial aspect stemming from attitude that has to be dealt with by making manifest to the employee the steps involved in the personal thought process metamophosing into an attitude. Negativity will cover all facets of existence and the HR will unfortunately not be able to probe into all relevant areas of the employees interface. The course at ValuePoint Academy Bangalore deals with this issue in a simple, structured  logical understandable way without theory . This training program is a very practical and pragmatic approach to handle negativity.