We all know what it feels like to have a bad day at work. Instead of wearing rose-colored glasses, you’re wearing red-colored glasses. Everything—and everyone—aggravates you at your job. You’re annoyed at your colleagues sending you messages. You’re frustrated with your IT system. And you can’t stand your commute.
If you struggle with constant negativity on the job, it can impact your productivity because you spend more time thinking about how you’re upset instead of doing what you can to have a positive impact on your situation.
As a time management coach, my goal is to empower workers to improve their lives. That doesn’t mean you can eliminate all irritations or that you will never feel negative emotions. But it does mean you don’t need to be negative every day.
Here are three strategies you can start using right now to help you feel less negative at work.
Practice gratitude
Researchers have found that taking time to practice gratitude can significantly improve stress and depression. When you focus on what’s wrong, you’ll always find something to be mad about. When you focus on what’s right, you’ll do the opposite.
Instead of fixating on the negative, start to be grateful for every little thing. You could be grateful for being alive today and for being healthy enough to work. You can be grateful for having a job that provides the income you need to pay your bills. If you’re hybrid or remote, you can be grateful that you do not have to commute every day. And we should all make time to be grateful for the amenities in our lives. For instance, do you have access to a vehicle, public transportation, computer, phone, and the Internet? Or consistent utilities like electricity, gas, and water?
We tend to take so many things for granted every single day. But when we step back and think about what’s going right for us, it can really help put everything into perspective.
Explain what’s bothering you
Different people experience situations in different ways. Something that might drive you batty, like a colleague chewing gum or having a massive amount of spelling errors, might not bother someone else at all.
If you don’t like something someone at work is doing and it’s appropriate to give them feedback, let them know. It’s possible that they’re completely unaware they’re bothering you and would make a change if you simply told them.
Here are a few different ways to give feedback:
- Individually: If it’s possible and advisable, communicate one-on-one with the person about what you would like to see change. You could say something like, “I would really appreciate it if…”
- Collectively: If what is bothering you applies to a large group of people, you might want to write a PSA. This could be a simple, calmly written email that calls people in, rather than calling them out.
- Behaviorally: In some cases, instead of directly stating what you want, it works best to demonstrate it through your actions. For example, maybe you stop replying to messages after 6 p.m. so people realize they need to wait until the next business day to hear from you.
It can make it easier to stay positive when you take actions to address what is bothering you.
Analyze other factors
If you’re trying to be grateful and have dealt with the external issues and still find yourself being negative, then it might be time to delve a bit deeper internally.
Sometimes negativity about what’s going on around us can really be a shield against some of the difficult emotions inside us. Perhaps you’re feeling insecure about your abilities and nervous about the possibility of getting criticism. Maybe you’re overwhelmed, so when someone asks you a legitimate question you get upset because you feel like you can’t handle even one more thing. The only way to overcome these situations that can cause negativity is to honestly and courageously work on your own issues.
And finally, it’s good to acknowledge if there might be some nonwork-related stress impacting your mood. If one of your parents is struggling with health issues, for example, or you are having troubles in your relationship, those pressures can seep into how you feel at work. You might not really hate your job at all but simply are taking your personal stress into your work environment.
Negativity is an important hindrance to overcome. Sometimes life is difficult, and you will need to vent. But if you find yourself perpetually feeling negative about work, try these strategies to get to a better place.
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