As seasoned HR managers will tell you, one of the more prominent ‘challenges’ they face is navigating and managing the varying attitudes employees bring to the workplace.
These attitudes can greatly impact the team dynamics, productivity, and overall business operations. To ensure suitable working conditions and a conducive environment for collaboration, it is critical to establish strategies that effectively deal with employee attitude issues.
Firstly, to pre-empt attitude problems, it is useful to foster a workplace culture that encourages open and honest communication. Diverse expression is important, and every employee should feel confident in sharing their feelings, ideas, and concerns without the fear of being judged, dismissed, or retaliated against.
Opportunities such as team meetings, suggestion boxes, anonymous surveys, and individual feedback sessions can be viable platforms for this communication. By understanding the root causes behind negative attitudes, steps can be taken to alleviate these issues and cultivate a more positive mindset.
Promoting continual professional development is another significant strategy. Employees who feel that they’re learning, growing, and developing professionally are generally more content and satisfied with their jobs. By offering training programs, workshops, or supporting further education, employees can better their skills and knowledge. As a result, it bolsters their (1) self-confidence; (2) self-esteem; and (3) their attitude towards work, which in-turn creates a useful domino effect on their efficiency and productivity.
Recognising and rewarding the right behaviours is a potent tool in managing negative attitudes in the workplace.
Recognition of employees’ efforts and achievements can significantly increase morale and job satisfaction, which in turn will lead to a better attitude towards work. This recognition can be as simple as a pat on the back, a word of praise during a staff meeting, or more substantial rewards such as promotions, raises, or additional benefits. By shining a spotlight on the correct behaviours and performances, a performance benchmark will be set, encouraging others to strive to reach it.
One cannot overlook the vital importance of leading by example. HR management and line managers need to exhibit the behaviours they expect from their employees.
Behaviours like courteous communication, positive problem-solving, and pro-active actions towards challenges can go a long way to mould employee attitudes. This method of leading not only demonstrates professionalism but also engenders respect for managerial authority.
When faced with blatantly negative attitudes, direct intervention can sometimes be the most effective strategy. Here, the HR with the concerned manager should initiate a one-to-one discussion with the employee, outlining the observed behaviours, the impact on the workforce, and the required changes. This shouldn’t be a complaint session but rather a constructive feedback session, focusing on the problem at hand and potential ways to improve.
It is worth noting that a constructive workplace environment is critical; an overloaded, stressed, or unappreciated employee is more likely to become demotivated and develop a negative attitude, which risks spreading across the entire team. Maintaining reasonable workload expectations, providing the necessary resources, encouraging work-life balance are just some of the ways to ensure employee well-being and a healthy mental space for all to operate in.
Last up, lets talk about implementing a fair performance appraisal system is essential to prevent attitude issues that stem from perceived injustices and/or favouritism. Employees should know that they’ll be evaluated based on their performance, not on their relationship or favour with the management. A clear link between performance and rewards will help foster a positive attitude amongst employees.