The Cost of Chronically Negative People
There are very few resources more worthy of protecting in the workplace than time and energy.
Once time is gone, it cannot be recovered. Energy is contagious - when it becomes negative or is drained, we have to expend more energy to contain its spread and attempt to replenish it. And, it’s no secret - most leaders spend an unfortunate amount of time and energy navigating people who drain these resources.
The chronically negative, also identified by the research firm, Gallup, as the “actively disengaged” - the approximate 20% of people who are “miserable in the workplace and destroy what the most engaged employees build” (Gallup, 2017). Chronically negative people are the quintessential example of the Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule). In this case, we find the actively disengaged responsible for 80% of the time and energy drain, while only making up 20% of the team. Yet, as the contagion of negatively spreads, for leaders and team members, it quickly begins to feel like everything and everyone is negatively affected. This often results in leaders squandering resources and thrusting team members into a Drama Triangle (hero, victim, villain) experience at work, which leads to a toxic work environment.
In my executive coaching practice, I have watched a number of my clients exhaust themselves trying to resuscitate their teams due to a few ‘bad actors’ that have no interest in shifting their behavior or performance. Unfortunately, by the time they realized that they could no longer afford the high costs of their chronically negative and actively disengaged employees, the damage was already done. High performers started to resign and those employees already on the fence began to behave/perform negatively or apathetically (I’m not always sure which is worst).
Let’s be clear - no matter how awesome of a leader you believe you are (and I do believe you are awesome), you cannot fix, save, or change people. You cannot force the 20% to do something they don’t want to do and you shouldn’t force the other 80% to deal with chronic negativity. Instead, give yourself permission to admit that hiring mistakes may have been made. Make the choice to re-invest your time and energy in your high performers, your culture builders, and those team members who are seeking positive engagement experiences. Allow your time and energy to reflect and demonstrate your values and priorities as a leader.
Quote for Growth
“Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.”