How are employees feeling amid this barrage of continual change? A survey of 2,904 workers conducted by Right Management in August 2010 revealed that employees are working longer hours (Figure 1), and 79 percent reported their workloads increased as a result of layoffs at their company. Fewer than half of employees leave their desk to take a lunch break each day.

Increased workloads, decreased confidence in corporate direction and growing mistrust of leadership have raised employee negativity while lowering productivity. Consequently, a significant number of employees are likely underperforming because of poor engagement. That’s why employers must focus on managing change, engaging employees and building skills and behaviors that both employees and employers need to thrive in today’s dynamic business climate.

Recognizing Signs of Negativity
Productivity can suffer in a workplace characterized by criticism, spiteful gossip and lack of teamwork. Surveys of 1,404 HR professionals conducted by Right Management in September 2010 showed that more than 61 percent of organizations suffer from excessive negativity that harms performance and productivity. Nearly 2 out of 3 senior executives and human resource professionals indicated that negativity in the workplace makes it difficult for workers to focus on their jobs. �

In many cases, negativity is ignored. Most people don’t like confrontation, so it’s easier to turn a blind eye and put up with it or, even worse, begin to contribute to the negativity. Instead, managers should address negativity by coaching alternate behaviors — ones that are more productive to the situation, such as not complaining without offering suggestions, helping employees to be more self-aware and not tolerating whining.