The face of a bad work climate– Day to day work is a source of wear and laboratory testing of nerve tempering. The reasons, very common: to have a despotic or incompetent boss, a companion or two who are absent from their responsibilities or are not aware of them. Simply over stress or having a bad time because you have not rested or bring home problems. All this can affect the work environment , so we give you some clues if your office has a most tense environment.
Given this scenario, the ability to act is very limited and depends almost exclusively on an intelligent management of one’s own emotions . In the work, personal relationships are woven through processes where power comes into play and hierarchies are established, envies appear and professional jealousy sneaks in. These tips will help you make a day in a tense environment more bearable.
Self-control, key to work climate management
Work environments are a continuum of performance appraisals of functions. These can be constructive, they help you improve and progress, but in many cases they can be harmful because they are related to extra-personal aspects or personal and non-professional considerations.
Responding hot to an offensive comment is never a good option . When the comment comes from a superior your answer must be thought through and focus on the exclusively work, which is your task and your performance. It is highly recommended to spend some time and consult with the people who love you. If the criticism comes from a minimally reasonable person, it is prudent to calmly ask the reasons why a negative assessment has been made and not act defensively without speaking it . You can surprise yourself with an apology because that person agrees to acknowledge his mistake.
But it is also good to do introspection . You have to measure whether it is a real offense or you are receiving a criticism of work that you are not willing to admit out of pride. For this, it is advisable to record the negative comments or judgments received to evaluate the situation, having as objective an attitude as possible . It will help you when it comes to arguing your dissatisfaction or diminishing importance and learning to turn the page and focus on adapting to the way of working that is asked of you.
Get away from toxic relationships
There are people in the jobs that cause negativity wherever they go. Criticism to comrades, endless complaints … Without entering to assess their motives, the prudent thing in these cases is to have a minimum contact. In these cases worth lying to safeguard integrity . These people often induce them to take sides in a radical sense: either with me or against me. You do not have to enter that game. Establish the distance that ensures your well-being using a cordial treatment but not letting your negativity invade you. Use humor as a weapon against harmful attitudes.
Assertiveness for everything
If this has not been learned at school or at home, you learn by working (before or after). The results are amazing. A valuable practice is to ask for things by giving arguments . If requests are made without giving further explanations, it will provoke a negative attitude in the person receiving it, it can be thought that it is the result of caprice or is understood as an imposition. Explaining why things are requested helps empathize . And empathy is fundamental in the proper development of relationships between human beings. It is also interesting to take a dose of assertiveness when you want to or you have to give a negative to something . If after the denial there is an alternative proposal, the answer will be much better received by the interlocutor.
Say no and delegate
Work overload occurs many times because they do not calculate well the time it takes to do each task and tend to overestimate their own ability to get work. Doing good management involves an objective analysis of the tasks of which one is capable and delegating those that can not be assumed . That’s what teamwork is all about. If it is not answered in an effective way, complaints can arrive that will worsen the environment with the consequent feeling of frustration. Measure the responsibilities you can assume and use assertiveness to set limits to your immediate superior or time thieves .
But if, despite having put all your effort to feel comfortable in the office, the thing still does not work, maybe it’s time to take flight in search of a new job opportunity where the work climate can breathe.
How to fight a bad work climate
- Personalize your work space, if you can even photos of your loved ones and elements that motivate and relax you.
- Stay busy. This will help you forget about the problems while doing something and feeling useful.
- Do the job well. It will be satisfying and will help you feel better.
- Even if you have to give in something, do not do it much, because if you feel that they take advantage of you, you will have a worse time.
- Look for the causes of the bad environment and try to fight them. If you have to give in something small do it, since it will cost less than the bad environment at work.
- Go out with your partner, stay with your friends, have fun outside of work.
- It is a good time to develop your hobby or do things that you like.
- Do not complain at all times, negativism attracts more negativism. Think more positive, in why you like your work, in the advantages of work.
- If there are conflicts confront them, but not attacking but trying to solve the problem.
How to end a bad work climate
Indicators of a harmful work climate
The management or those responsible for human resources must know how to identify, and do it in time, those situations before serious conflicts are triggered. the work environment needs to improve are:
Lack of clarity: an inaccurate organization chart can generate confusion among colleagues or even between departments. Not specifying the tasks of each employee leads to problems when looking for the person responsible for an error or operational level.
Conflicts of interest: personal goals and ambition cause people to work individually. The desire to promote contributes to the individual working in a competitive manner, giving priority to personal tasks over teamwork. A preventive measure would be to remind workers that they should align their personal goals with those of the organization.
Chock of beliefs or lifestyles: respecting different ways of thinking is essential to get relationships to be rewarding, so you always have to work to achieve a climate of tolerance.
Lack of communication: an inefficient internal communication strategy can have great consequences, from misunderstandings to the failure of projects. In this way, it is essential to invest in this area to encourage employee participation and commitment. It is important to complement the information channels in order to improve competitiveness and achieve the objectives. For example, you could create an informative e-mail that summarizes what was discussed during a meeting and send this information to workers related to the subject
How to solve interpersonal conflicts
There are several strategies to strengthen relations and that the parties involved in the conflict can reach an agreement:
Use active listening: in conflict situations, the parties usually refute before listening, so they judge the other person’s reasons from their point of view without empathizing. The person in charge must ensure that both parties have the opportunity to give their opinion on the subject that concerns them. One way to act as a mediator is to ask open questions, control emotions and be tolerant.
Deal with the conflict collaboratively: during the session both participants must analyze the problem from the perspective of the other person and seek common solutions. The incidence can also be monitored to assess its progress.
Define some rules of behavior: it is to explain how the company harms the conflict between colleagues and determine the consequences that would have the repetition of inappropriate behavior.
Finally, a bad work climate causes the person to feel bad in the workplace, and often outside of it, and not only his performance falls but it is affecting many factors. There are people who have to leave work because they can not bear this situation, others have to stay because they have no other choice, but in no case is the situation easy. A good work climate should be created with a good relationship between the partners without stress, or rush or situations that lead to stress and anxiety. To do this, we must start with three important points: the work space, the leadership of superiors and the relationship between workers and teamwork. But, without a doubt, the best way to achieve a better work environment is to know what is causing this situation and how to fight it.
