How to encourage positivity at work

How to encourage positivity at work – Top Tips

However, maintaining a positive attitude on a daily basis in the workplace is harder than you may think. Many staff look to HR during times of stress or as a point of contact, being able to encourage positivity in the workplace in the face of deadlines and work pressures is crucial for HR.

In this month’s tips I look at ways HR can support and encourage positivity at work.

Moderate Complaining– staff often need an outlet to complain, allow someone to air how they are feeling and respect their point of view, however you can help someone moderate their negative feelings. Remind them that focussing on bad and negative aspects can mean you are surrendering control to your environment. Focussing on negative behaviour can result in a cycle which can be hard to come out of. Encouraging someone air the negative with you but then to work on focussing on the positive and their work can help remove someone from that negative behaviour or cycle of complaining.
Encourage Gratitude– help staff to see that the ultimate goal of practicing gratitude is to train the brain to look for positivity. Discuss with the staff member about things at work in life that they are grateful for and how they can transfer this positivity to other aspects of their work.
Smile– when we smile, we seem friendly which fosters positivity. Smiling is infectious, when you smile at someone chances are they are going to smile in return.
Focus on Positivity– the more positive your outlook, the better your mood is going to be. This can also rub off on other people and is important when dealing with staff from a HR perspective. Work on your own outlook: read inspiring quotes, listen to your favourite podcast or YouTube channel or choose an uplifting book to read. Work on your own resilience, it is a challenging job!
Set Goals– the great thing about setting goals is when you actually follow through with them and when you achieve them, it feels really good. This is also going to reinforce to you that you are making progress on whatever you are working on. This is a great technique to use for yourself as a HR professional or when working with staff members.
Be the light– I know that it is bit of a cliché, but when you are a positive person that is going to set more positive tone for other people and the more open you are to sharing that with others the more receptive, they are going to be. Being positive is going to give you a lot of control in terms of the vibe at your workplace.

Ultimately a positive attitude is not going to just serve the people around you and your day-to-day wellbeing, when you maintain a positive attitude at work you are going to be better equipped respond to challenges and opportunities.