Improve Employee Attitude: 4 Incredible Tips

An attitude is a psychological state of mind. Depending on the situation & time, the attitude of a person gets changed. It can be easily identified in one’s behavior: the way they talk, behave and respond. In most organizations, employee attitude can reflect his or her feelings of loyalty towards the organization.

In the corporate world, sometimes it is very difficult to handle the attitude of employees in the correct way. It leads to conflicts among employees because of attitude problems. Employees in the workplace may have either a positive or negative attitude towards products or services, specific work tasks, co-workers or management, or the organization as a whole.

If an employee’s attitude in the workplace is poor, the most talented and skilled employee may be doomed to extremely poor performance. On the other hand, employees who have a positive attitude of dedication and engagement contribute to high levels of effort though they are not most talented and skilled.

Organizations have become aware of the importance of attitude. Those organizations are spending more time and effort than ever in developing the best attitude possible among their employees.

A positive attitude gives you power over your cirtcumstances instead of your circumstances having power over you. - Joyce Meyer

Negative attitudes lead to ignorance towards everyday tasks. Employees are messed up quickly by small problems. Employees who have a negative attitude towards their work, they completed their work at very particular points.

Positive attitudes among employees make the workplace environment more fun. Employees with a positive attitude have carried out their work performance to a higher standard without any complaint.

Here is an example of a positive employee attitude.
When an employee with a positive attitude, deals with a negative customer service call as an opportunity for the customer to change their attitude towards the employee. Later, it can set an example for the other employees also.

When employees are happy and engaged, attitudes and productivity are more likely to be positive. Negative attitudes can be changed to positive ones with the right amount of encouragement and acknowledgment. By managing the workplace and employees effectively, you can change their attitudes positively and improve their performance at work.

What can affect Employee Attitude?

Would it not be great, if every employee was happy? But this scenario is not ideal. Sometimes people’s attitudes are distracting and it can negatively impact others. It’s the role of management to handle these factors to prevent the arising of negative attitudes in the workplace.

Here are some factors that can affect employees’ attitudes:

• Job Satisfaction
• Employee Engagement
• Emotional Connect
• Personal Issue and Problems

Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction is one of the key factors of the attitude of employees. When the employees enjoy their work, feel confident in their abilities to succeed in the assigned tasks, and appreciate the roles that they are assigned to. They are much more likely to have a positive attitude in the workplace.

When an organization is looking for candidates to fill a position, they look for the most talented or experienced candidates. Irrespective of whether the person is suitably interested or well-matched to the particular position in the organization. For example, a candidate who has excellent knowledge of the industry but he/she prefers to do research and development work, might not expect to be hired for a marketing or sales position.

Unless the candidate is not interested or comfortable with the position, hiring them for such positions might be a risky decision. Even if they have the skills to work for the position, considering them for a badly fitted position might not be good for the growth of an organization or the employee himself.

Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement is a concept that includes satisfaction, dedication, and motivation of employees.

When employees feel engaged and satisfied with the task, you can see a positive attitude vibe among them. They will grow in their skills, interests, and ambitions in their respective fields of work. This will encourage their efforts and dedication, keep their attitude towards work positive, and increase their productivity.

Emotional Connect

The Emotional Connect is not a legal document, but an understanding of the relationship between the manager and their employees — and what they expect from each other. When the employees feel a negative attitude from their manager, the emotional connection is broken. This can negatively impact engagement and job satisfaction, leading to a negative attitude in the workplace.

Personal Issues and Problems

Negative attitudes among the employees can also occur for other reasons. For example, personal or family issues may cause an employee to negatively impact work performance.

Such problems can not be solved if you do not support them. But you can still help them to solve their problems and manage their attitudes towards work.

How does Attitude relate to Work?

In most situations, a good attitude leads to positive behaviors and negative attitude leads to negative behaviors. An employee who believes in the company’s core values is more likely to show positivity in the workplace.

Organizations where employees like each other and trust the management are more likely to have positive attitudes. Employees with positive attitudes are more productive and have less turnover and absenteeism in the workplace.

However, if the employees are expected to work for extended hours regularly without extra incentives, a negative attitude develops quickly. It affects the organization that creates problems in work performance and productivity in the workplace.

Prevention is the best solution to change the attitude of your employees. You can use different methods to change the attitude of the employees instead of waiting for negativity to develop among them. When management listens to their employees’ concerns and responds to them, negativity will not be there between the management and employees. Communicate with the employees and listen to their concerns both professionally and personally, and work on them seriously.

How can you create a Positive Attitude in the Workplace?

Some people who tend to negativity and do complain against others are their nature. But you can not encourage their attitude to bring negativity to the workplace.

Here are four simple steps to create positive attitude:

• Appreciation can help you to create a positive attitude. Appreciate the employees for their efforts and contributions for the betterment of the organization.

• Try to focus on the solutions instead of problems. Let the employees think about the solutions to their problems.

• Try to understand the relationship between the employee and their attitude towards the work. You will get to know about their issues and success behind them.
  It will help the organization to solve problems like negative team morale, less growth, and low productivity, etc.

• You can do some activities such as fun actitvities, organize events in the workplace so that everyone can participate. This will help you to reduce the negative attitude between the employees.

How to deal with a Negative Attitude Employee?

A negative attitude can threaten the vital functions of your organization. It can spread like viruses from a single employee through the entire department and affect the organization.

No matter how good your organization is, you will face an employee with a negative attitude in some situations. As negative attitudes are common, you will want to solve them quickly and easily.

Here are three simple steps to deal with a negative attitude employee:

• Finding out the employees with a negative attitude, their behavior, and the effects that they are having in the workplace.
• You can have a discussion with them about their attitude. Explain to them the effect of their attitude and make them understand the effects that cause problems in the workplace.
• You can help the employees to change their attitude. Give them a chance to explain their problems and encourage them to come up with a solution. If they need help, then help them with some advice.

Conclusion

If you are an employee of the government or an organization, you will face the brunt of employee attitudes everywhere. It is vital to understand the attitude of an employee regarding their work environment.

The attitude of an employee can impact on their personal and professional life. Employees who work in a supportive environment, have become more responsive to their managers and satisfied with their job. Moreover, these employees faced less negative attitudes toward their family and colleagues.

This article is written by Rashmi Rekha Deka. She works as a Content Marketer at Vantage Circle. She likes to keep herself informed about the HR happenings and write about topics surrounding organizational growth. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com