What to Say When: A Co-Worker is Negative

Why are some people negative? While negativity doesn’t usually lead to any financial reward or promotion, there is a social reward that negative people seek out. Specifically, once a negative atmosphere has been established, a person can be seen as popular if they contribute to that atmosphere. The problem with negativity is it spreads like wildfire and can bring down morale and productivity. So what do you do when a co-worker is negative? Telling the negative person they are negative isn’t the answer. This course illustrates a communication strategy to isolate the negativity. Use this course to learn how to quickly and effectively put out the fire of negativity before it spreads throughout your organization.

This course is part of the What To Say When series on workplace communication. These short vignettes present common communication dilemmas in the workplace. Human Resource expert Hugh Murray shares communication strategies and tactics for navigating these situations.

Each vignette features narrative examples for employees to see the wrong and right way to handle a problem, and ends with a short assessment to measure learner comprehension. Each course also includes a leader guide, so you can use this course in a group setting, and a downloadable “key points” document to help you remember the communication strategy. These courses make for great training on their own, or used as a series.

   This course is in the Video On Demand format, to read about Video On Demand features click here.

Anyone looking for strategies for dealing with negative co-workers

• A Co-Worker is Negative

• Communication Skills: What Would You Say?
• Effective Communication - Avoid the 6 Common Mistakes
• Writing Effective Emails