How to transform negative energy in the workplace

Negative energy in the workplace is a nagging problem many companies experience. If you've ever been in a position where you've experienced a bit of trepidation at the thought of going to work you are not alone. According to The Conference Board, 53 percent of Americans are unhappy at work (courtesy Forbes).

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Have you ever given any thought as to why you may feel this way about your job? Chances are one of the explanations may be due to negative energy plaguing your workplace. While negative energy in the workplace is a huge reason people develop unfavorable feelings towards their jobs, the problem is many of them probably don't realize this is the root of the emotion.

Impact of negative energy

Over time, these feelings can really impact a person's attitude towards their job and how other people perceive them. Another characteristic of negative energy is that it tends to be contagious and once a perception is established it spreads rapidly. The signs of negative energy are not always easy to spot, but if you look for the signs they are a bit more obvious.

Combating negative energy

People who carry a constant pessimistic attitude, look for ways to express negativity, engage in gossip, and pick fights are the usual culprits who seed the negative energy problem and then allow it to grow by carefully cultivating and nurturing negativity.

Once you've identified the problem of negative energy the next challenge is coming up with ways to combat it. You can help stop the spread of negative energy by:

• Staying away from and discouraging office gossip
• Avoid getting caught up in office politics which are vicious or are work towards achieving strife
• Not getting involved in a colleague's negative goal
• Keeping involved in proactive and progressive activity

It's not always easy to avoid circumstances that contribute to a negative work environment, but once you can identify them, you can work to find solutions to improve the situation.

Managerial approaches

If you are a manager in a place of business which is plagued by negative energy, there are several approaches you can try to combat the further spread of unconstructive behaviors and transform the energy put into negativity and turn it into something positive:

Provide motivation: Try to discover the kinds of motivations your staff responds to in a positive fashion. Give them something to feel good about. 

Offer incentives: Finding the right way to reward employees is another way you can transform negative energy. After you've correctly identified the right motivating factors, the next step is to put into place a reward system to correspond. Some employees will prefer intrinsic rewards such as praise, autonomy, more responsibility and other kinds of intangible rewards. Others will respond more favorably to extrinsic rewards such as bonuses, raises, days off, or other tangible rewards.

Find a shared goal: An important part of team building is to have a common goal. The goal should be a positive one which will appeal to the team and one people will feel encouraged about participating in. Once everyone gets involved in this goal it will have a proactive impact upon the workplace since everyone will refocus their energies towards the shared goal.

Focus on the behavior, not the person: Always keep in mind the problem is the negativity in the workplace and with the behaviors associated with it, not the person(s) themselves. Punishing or singling out those with negative attention won't solve the problem. However, by refocusing everyone on goals, productivity and what is acceptable behavior in the workplace, you'll probably see far better results.

Negative energy in the workplace can also have an adverse impact on the way a company is projected. If this is occurring in your organization, it's to everyone's advantage to take this negative energy and transform it into something more proactive and positive.

If you can successfully transform the negative energy into dynamic energy everyone will be happier and the company itself will be more productive and, as a result, everyone wins.