Workplace Attitude

Most interviewers now assess people on four important aspects.

Technicality – that which only improves with time and experience.

Skill – that which can be acquired or developed with adequate training.

Communication – how you can convey what you want to say.

Attitude – something that is the most vital ingredient in any candidate.

Influence of Attitude

Workplace attitude can be either positive or negative. Ironically, both the kinds of Attitude have an equally important role in an organization. Both are equally influential and both play a vital role in one’s contribution.

During the year-end review process, my manager used to ask me who was the one person that I valued the most in my team.And my reply was to retain the most influential team player who enhanced not only his / her productivity but also influenced the performance of the entire team.

Such people are indeed the most valued people in any organization. Similarly, as a manager, I find it most distressing to handle people who constantly crib or who like picking at other co-workers or who pass snide remarks.

This kind of workplace attitude of people not only returns home in an unpleasant state of mind, but also needles other co-workers into back biting / unhealthy gossips. Such people are truly the kind of people who are not missed when they are not around.

First impression

In any interview or in any organization, it is very important to get that first impression right. Perception is hard to shake and lots of people are unsuccessful in shaking off their impression. It is therefore, imperative to carry the right attitude and reflect that attitude in your workplace.

We often see people who are strong performers but are branded as people with the wrong attitude (workplace attitude). They come across as negative elements in an organization despite being very strong performers. And this plays a very important role in deciding their career path. A friend of mine approached his manager asking to be considered for a managerial position. He was politely refused saying that he was not yet ready.

He couldn’t quite fathom what he had to do to be ready. He had the right experience, the right qualification, good business knowledge and was always a strong performer.

Well, the truth was that he was not considered as a good team player by his team and hence, he was not considered for a people-management position.

Advantages of a positive workplace attitude

The advantages of a positive workplace attitude are multi-fold. But I am trying to attempt to just list a few of them here:

• Improved performance
• Good communication
• Improved team-work
• Higher productivity of self and of team
• Lower stress levels
• Better growth
• Increased opportunities

In dealing with people with a positive attitude – valuable time is utilized towards productive betterment rather than in trying to make-up for lack of positive workplace attitude in them.

Defining traits

The table below can help us identify the defining traits of both positive and negative workplace attitudes:

Positive workplace attitude	Negative workplace attitude
Take initiative	Wait to be told
Deal with problems	Wait for someone to solve them
Reliable	Not reliable
Crisp and concise communication	Mostly beating around the bush
Take feedback constructively	Are not open to feedback
Are go-getters	Back-bite and are not open
Are fun to be around	Are very distressing to work with
Highly recognized by managers even with average performance	Not noticed despite very high performance
Appreciates staff where due	Scorns at good work done by others
Identifies learning prospective in any job	Only looks at the negative traits in a job
Listens with an open mind	Is not a good listener
Is open to ideas	Does not like contradicting ideas

Conclusion

In this age where most organizations look to down-size or right-size, its only people with a positive workplace attitude that are valued most and are retained in an organization.

You will notice that most people in the top are people with influential attitudes and are people who stay positive. So, discover the power of positive attitude and make a difference in your workplace.