Negative People: 10 Strategies for Maintaining Positivity in the Workplace

Working with negative people can be challenging even at the best of times. It can also have a consequence on your own mood. 

The bad new is that it isn't possible to change someone else, only they can do that.  The good news is you do have a say in how you respond to something external to you, including negative people at work.

Here are 10 strategies for maintaining positivity that you can try to help the situation, to better maintain a positive work environment:

1. Stay Positive Maintaining a positive attitude and outlook for yourself, even when faced with negativity from others can be extremely beneficial.  Your positive energy can help counterbalance the negativity and influence those around you.

2. Set Boundaries Establishing clear boundaries with people can protect yourself from their negativity. This can be done by politely yet firmly communicating your limits, e.g. “I understand that we can all vent about things at times, but it really gets to me.  I think we’d both feel better if we focused on the positive side of things.  What do you think?". Notice this is not an accusation said in this way. It's important not to single somebody out or blame them - to point the proverbial finger, which is likely to be met badly.

3. Empathise It can be very helpful to try and understand the root cause of a person's negativity. They may be dealing with personal issues or facing challenges at work that are impacting their mood and behaviour.  Showing empathy can help defuse tension and open the door to constructive communication.

4. Communicate Effectively When interacting with the negative person, having a focus on clear and respectful communication is often very important.  Having an awareness can help avoid getting drawn into arguments or escalating conflicts.  Instead, consider calmly expressing your thoughts and feelings, and listen actively to their perspective, especially to validate their thoughts / feelings / experience (which may be very different from your own).

5. Offer Support You can consider offering support and assistance, if appropriate.  They may be struggling with workload, stress, or other issues that are contributing to their negativity.  Your willingness to help can build a more positive relationship and improve the overall work environment.

6. Redirect Conversations Whenever possible, it can be helpful to steer conversations away from negative topics and toward more positive or productive discussions.  Try to refrain from participating in negative conversations or gossip and redirect conversations toward more positive and constructive topics.  Consider encouraging the person to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

7. Lead by Example You can try to demonstrate positivity and resilience in your own actions and interactions, e.g. rather than focus on the other person and how they are bothering you, look inwards and focus on you.  What can you change about you for the better?  In this way, you can try to model constructive communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, for example.  This may inspire others to adopt a more positive mindset. 

8. Offer Solutions If appropriate, you could suggest constructive solutions to the issues raised by the negative person.  This will encourage solution-orientated conversations rather than problem-orientated ones, to help the person not dwell on problems.

9. Seek Support If the negativity persists and begins to affect your well-being or productivity, you could seek support from your manager, HR department, or a trusted colleague.  They may be able to offer advice, insight, mediation, or additional resources to help address the situation.

10. Maintain Perspective Remember, you cannot control the attitudes or behaviours of others, but you can control how you respond to them.  Focus on what you can do to maintain your own positivity and professionalism in the face of negativity.