Our Reactions Shape Our Experiences with the World Around Us Safety Talk

Perception has a way of shaping reality. Our own experiences in many ways have shaped our views and perspectives. It also plays a big role how we interact and relate to the world arounders. The big test for us is to make positive choices when faced with thorny situations in our reactions to follow citizens whether at work or play.

WORKPLACE NEGATIVITY

First, attempt to identify the cause of negativity, whether it’s gossip, stress or job burnout. Be a role model treat everyone fairly.

Many of us spend more time of our time that we are awake at work than we do at home. Because of this, there can be many issues between people at work. Perception of others and their actions dictates how we react to them- good or bad. When we judge others based on looks, actions, or a single event and associate that individual with a specific negative thing it can lead to issues.

The best workplaces are characterized by transparency, kindness, inclusion and playfulness. Employees should have the freedom to express themselves and share ideas, opinions or critiques. Furthermore, they should know what’s going on in the organization at any given time.

What matters most is to foster communication and collaboration. Focus on creating a work environment where everyone feels valued and supported. Recognize your team’s achievements and reinforce positive statements.

Every place of work has a different atmosphere, a different environment, a different ethos. An efficient and harmonious working environment is created, largely, by the way people behave in the workplace. This includes the behaviour of employees, employers and to, some extent, even customers and clients.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Negative feedback in particular can be valuable because it allows us to monitor our performance and alerts us to important changes we need to make.

But processing and acting on negative feedback is not always easy. It can make us defensive, angry, and self-conscious, which subsequently impairs our effectiveness. What’s more, we can’t take all feedback we receive at face value. While critical feedback can frequently be given objectively and with the purest of motives, it can also be inaccurate and/or nefarious in nature: a coworker who wants to throw us off our game; a boss who has completely unachievable expectations; an employee who is scared to speak truth to power; a friend who projects her/his own issues onto us. It’s hard to know what is real and what should be filtered out.

Here are our top suggestions for using negative feedback to fuel professional growth:

1. Don’t take your professional life personally 

It’s easy to take negative feedback related to your performance as a personal attack, but it’s healthier to acknowledge your emotions and put them aside.

Acknowledge that the negative feedback at work has left you feeling upset or frustrated; however, take the emotion out of the equation and try not to react defensively.

How to deal with difficult conversations at work

Maintain a good work-life balance and allow yourself time to relax and unwind at the end of a working day. Assessing the problem with a clear head will allow you to identify ways that you can move forward and improve.

2. Consider your colleague’s motivations 

Think about what your co-worker or manager’s motivations might be. Do you really value their criticism? If your gut tells you that the comments are undeservedly harsh or not constructive, take a deep breath and let it go.

3. Recognise the need for improvement 

Be mindful of building your personal brand at work, promoting your positive attitude and receptiveness to citicism, and showing that you can take negative feedback – and thank the person for their insight.

Acknowledge your past mistakes and challenge yourself to do better next time. If you can understand what the cause of the negative feedback at work was, you have the opportunity to prevent it. Ask yourself why you received the negative feedback, and if it is true, what you need to do to make a change.

Take note of the points of criticism that are useful to you and figure out how use them to your advantage. Write down a list of specific goals and what you need to do to achieve them. Recognise your areas of development and commit to improving upon them in the future.

4. Develop your emotional intelligence 

Emotional intelligence (EQ) refers to the ability to recognise and effectively manage your colleagues’ workplace behaviours, and is an important factor in workplace success.

Use your emotional intelligence when dealing with negative feedback at work and remember that no matter how criticism may make you feel, defensive reactions won’t serve you well. Keeping a calm head will prove to your manager that you take their concerns seriously and are prepared to use them to help you move forward.

5. Learn your lessons 

Once you’ve made a concerted effort to fix the issue or put strategies for improvement in place, it’s time put the negative feedback in the past and do your best to move on. Carrying criticism with you can make you feel resentful and create barriers to your professional growth.

Remember to take criticism seriously, rather than personally. Take manageable steps to improve, understanding the weaknesses that might be leading to negative feedback at work. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in the negativity; instead, create actionable steps that will help you feel positive about your path to improvement.

FINAL WORD

Having a positive reaction or outlook towards negative people or events is needed in order to maintain a healthy mental state. Sure some events and actions of others need to be dealt with in a serious manner, but all individuals need to move on to ensure that their reactions are not continually negative towards the stimulus. We cannot control everything that occurs in our lives, but we can control our reactions to it all.