Help! there’s too much negative energy at work

Q Is it possible to thrive in a work environment where there is lots of negativity? I ask this because there is lots of cynicism in the department I work in. In their eyes, there is no good the management can do. When someone gets promoted for in-stance, they question the move and wonder why someone else didn’t get the position.

It is uncommon for people to achieve exceptional career success against an onslaught of negative energy at their workplaces.

A psychologically toxic environment encumbers career progress even for individuals who have strong internal loci of control, it is more difficult to win when you have a despondent team around you. Positive energy is conducive to success in virtually any venture for individuals or organisations.

The culture of ingrained cynicism in your department might be symptomatic of betrayed trust in the team. What is fuelling the pessimism?

EMPLOYEE

Is it only the employees who are cynical or are your leaders similarly disposed? Have promises to employees been serially broken in the past?

Employees could sometimes have an inflated sense of entitlement, but collective negative energy rarely forms for no reason.

Does your organisation have a mechanism for resolving employee concerns? If management is promoting the wrong col-leagues, is this reflected in poor business results and work relationships?

Does the management deal as firmly with breeches of organisational values as it does with poor financial results?

And, incidentally, what has kept you hopeful as an individual while your colleagues are suffocating in the smog of negative energy?

NEGATIVE

While it should be a concern if a negative spirit pervades an entire workforce, it is to be expected that there will be a disgruntled cohort of colleagues in any organisation.

Does the negative energy only afflict your department or the entire organisation? What do your HR colleagues say about the situation? Have you discussed the matter with your boss and do the responses you receive give you hope that the future might be different?

If in your assessment the causes of the negative energy in your team are unlikely to be dealt with and the situation is becoming more pernicious, choose to be a catalyst of a positive spirit in your environment as you look for an opportunity to work for an organisation whose culture helps to generate greater lift for your career growth.