{"id":645,"date":"2015-10-02T14:33:06","date_gmt":"2015-10-02T22:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=645"},"modified":"2015-11-05T10:36:15","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T18:36:15","slug":"emergency-rx-for-a-toxic-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/emergency-rx-for-a-toxic-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency Medicine for a Toxic Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/RX-for-Toxic-Wrkplace.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-646 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/RX-for-Toxic-Wrkplace-1024x676.jpg\" alt=\"Stressed businesswoman covering her ears with hands\" width=\"625\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/RX-for-Toxic-Wrkplace-1024x676.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/RX-for-Toxic-Wrkplace-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/RX-for-Toxic-Wrkplace-624x412.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Monday-morning heart attack is more than a myth. Studies published across the globe in the European Heart Journal, the American Journal of Hypertension, the British Medical Journal and others confirm the heightened incidence of heart attacks on Monday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The rise in heart-attack incidence coincides with the return to work after the weekend. According to the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stress.org\/workplace-stress\/\"> American Institute of Stress<\/a>, \u201cIncreased levels of job stress as assessed by the perception of having little control but lots of demands have been demonstrated to be associated with increased rates of heart attack, hypertension and other disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Workplace stress takes a toll on the entire workforce, not just the individual, and it results in loss of productivity, employee turnover and a toxic work environment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Major, but Curable, Disease in the Workplace<\/strong><br \/>\nWhining, moaning and griping are prevalent in society and contribute significantly to the toxic workplace. Much of the stress at work can be mitigated by eliminating complaining, and management can take simple steps to alleviate complaining.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Complaint Free World<\/strong><br \/>\nA few months ago, I stumbled upon Will Bowen\u2019s eye-opening, keynote presentation to an audience of educators. I was intrigued, so I enlisted the help of a colleague to try to eliminate complaining from my life. After several false starts, we did it\u201421 days without complaining. Below the video, you\u2019ll find an extensive review of this fascinating presentation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AYHP0VzYKQU\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bowen, the program\u2019s creator, is a pastor, international speaker, consultant and frequent TV guest who works with companies and organizations around the world to transform them into happier and more productive workplaces. He\u2019s also an international best-selling author and CEO of A Complaint Free World, a nonprofit organization that endeavors to stamp out complaining. Unlike many motivational speakers and consultants, he offers practical advice you can act on right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Is Complaining?<\/strong><br \/>\nBowen uses the dictionary definition, \u201cTo express grief, pain or discontent.\u201d As you stop uttering complaints, your mind shifts and you become happier. He likens complaining to bad breath: \u201cYou notice it when it comes out of someone else\u2019s mouth but not so much when it comes out of your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Complaining starts out tame and escalates until it spirals out of control\u2014one-upmanship. Bowen refers to it as a competitive sport. One of his strategies is to nip it in the bud before a molehill becomes Mount Everest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComplaining keeps you focused on the problem rather than looking for solutions. It is not complaining to speak only to the person who can resolve the issue. Most people talk to everyone else except the person who can fix the problem,\u201d says Bowen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Negative Effects of Complaining<\/strong><br \/>\nAccording to Bowen, \u201cIn most cases, the higher you go in a company, the better the attitude.\u201d The attitude trickles down, so management needs to set the example to avoid the negative effects. Complaining:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keeps you focused on the problem rather than looking for solutions. It moves the conversation from griping about who created the problem to exploring solutions. Bowen says that if you start with the end in mind, the middle steps will fill in for themselves.<\/li>\n<li>Damages relationships. The way in which you choose to view someone is how that other person will be to you.<\/li>\n<li>Encourages thoughts that affect the body and damage physical, mental and emotional health.<\/li>\n<li>Drags others down to the complainer\u2019s level.<\/li>\n<li>Limits career success. Bowen tells the story of an HR director who fired her best producer in the company, a 25-year employee. She had such a negative attitude that she dragged the entire department down with her. She had such a devastating effect on new, upbeat employees that she caused many of them to resign. After removing the offending employee, the company\u2019s sales skyrocketed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Why People GRIPE<\/strong><br \/>\nRobin Kawalski, Ph.D, professor of psychology at Clemson University and author of Complaining, Teasing, and Other Annoying Behaviors, wrote her doctoral dissertation on complaining. She identified five reasons people complain. Bowen suggests using the acronym GRIPE as a handy reminder of the five reasons. He provides a simple response to shut down each type of complaint.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>G\u2014Get attention. People have no idea how to connect with others so they complain to get noticed. Is this any wonder, since texting has become a communication art?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response<\/strong>: \u201cSo, what\u2019s going well in [your life, your department, with the project, etc.]?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019ll tell you what\u2019s going well, or they\u2019ll walk away. Bowen like this one because, \u201cEither way, you win.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>R\u2014Remove responsibility<\/strong>. These complaints are \u201cthe dog ate my homework\u201d excuses. They\u2019re complaining by asking, \u201cWhat do you want from me?\u201d The complainer says, \u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d but he or she is really saying, \u201cI won\u2019t take responsibility for doing that.\u201d Your initial reaction is probably, \u201cHave you thought about [this], or have you thought about [that]? That\u2019s a losing battle: They\u2019ll give you excuses why whatever you suggest won\u2019t work. Instead of looking for solutions, they\u2019re trying to convince you to join their view that the task is impossible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Response<\/strong>: \u201c[Hypothetically,] if it were possible, how might you do it,\u201d is the reply Bowen borrowed from motivational speaker Tony Robbins. Keep repeating the sentence until the complainer responds.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u2014Inspire envy. They\u2019re complaining to brag. They\u2019re saying, \u201cI don\u2019t have that character flaw.\u201d This type of complaining often takes the form of gossip. Gossip is complaining, and studies have found that gossip is generally distributed equally among men and women. When people gossip, they tell you what\u2019s wrong with a person to give the impression that they\u2019re a good person to put up with the object of their gossip. They elevate themselves by taking others down. The undercurrent is, \u201cMy standards are so high that [whomever or whatever] can never meet them.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Response<\/strong>: Turn it around and compliment the opposite. \u201cYou know what I really admire about you\u2026\u201d Suppose an employee complains that another employee is lazy and always arrives late. The response is, \u201cYou know what I really like about you is your work ethic and the fact that you\u2019re always punctual.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>P\u2014Power. People complain as a way of building a case against the other person. Notice it in meetings. When a person complains for power, often they don\u2019t realize that\u2019s what they\u2019re doing. They think they\u2019re conveying important information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Response<\/strong>: When two people are complaining over an issue in a power play, refuse to get involved. Bowen recommends saying, \u201cSounds to me like you two have a lot to talk about.\u201d They\u2019re talking to their superior to gain power over the other. They\u2019re not talking to the one person with whom they could work out the disagreement or reach a mutual conclusion.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>E\u2014Excuse poor performance.<\/strong> While similar to \u201cremove responsibility,\u201d the \u201cexcuse poor performance\u201d type of complaining offers up rationalized lies about why they didn\u2019t succeed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response<\/strong>: \u201cHow do you plan to improve next time?\u201d That puts the focus on next time and sets up the employee to be accountable in the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Address a Grievance Positively<\/strong><br \/>\nBowen says that most complaining carries the tone, \u201cHow dare you do this to me?\u201d To receive a positive outcome from a grievance, he suggests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the person who can resolve the problem instead of complaining to everyone else.<\/li>\n<li>Start the conversation by saying, \u201cYou\u2019re probably not aware of this, but\u2026\u201d<br \/>\nBowen used a common example to illustrate the point: Suppose you\u2019re dining in a five-star restaurant and you order a steak medium-well. When your dinner arrives, the steak is cooked medium-rare. It should be obvious that the last person you want to offend is someone who handles food, but many people use the \u201chow dare you\u201d tact. \u201cI ordered this steak medium well and YOU served me a medium-well steak. If instead, you tell the server, \u201cYou\u2019re probably not aware of this since you didn\u2019t cook the steak, but it\u2019s medium-well instead of medium-rare,\u201d you\u2019re likely to get a complimentary dessert for your trouble.<\/li>\n<li>Stick to the facts\u2014they\u2019re neutral.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bowen used a common example: Suppose you\u2019re dining in a five-star restaurant and you order a steak medium-well. When your dinner arrives, the steak is cooked medium-rare. It should be obvious that the last person you want to offend is someone who handles food you\u2019re going to eat, but many people use the \u201chow dare you\u201d tact in this situation. \u201cI ordered this steak medium well and YOU served me a medium-well steak. If instead, you tell the server, \u201cYou\u2019re probably not aware of this since you didn\u2019t cook the steak, but it\u2019s medium-well instead of medium-rare,\u201d you\u2019re likely to get a complimentary dessert for your trouble.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Road to a Complaint-Free Workplace<\/strong><br \/>\nThe average person complains 15\u201330 times a day, without even realizing he or she is complaining. Using this simple program, most people eliminate complaining within four to eight months.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wear Bowen\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stress.org\/workplace-stress\/\">purple bracelet<\/a> or a rubber band on your wrist.<\/li>\n<li>Every time you complain, move the bracelet or rubber band to the opposite wrist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s it. That\u2019s all there is to it. A few days after a workplace starts the program, a funny thing happens. Managers begin to hear, \u201cI\u2019m on Day Three. What day are you on?\u201d Team members begin competing to see who can go the longest without complaining.<\/p>\n<p>Bowen cautions against getting discouraged. Everyone will have to switch the rubber band from wrist to wrist multiple times. He describes the four stages on the road to becoming complaint-free:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Unconscious incompetent<\/strong>\u2014Before starting the program, you\u2019ll be complaining but not be conscious of it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conscious incompetent<\/strong>\u2014You\u2019ll be aware of complaining, but you can\u2019t stop yourself.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conscious competent<\/strong>\u2014You\u2019ll be aware you\u2019re not complaining. This is the \u201cI don\u2019t want to move my bracelet stage,\u201d so people can\u2019t find much to talk about.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unconscious competent<\/strong>\u2014At some point after completing 21 days free of complaining, you won\u2019t complain and you won\u2019t think about not complaining. It\u2019s no longer a part of who you are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The workplace will never be free of challenges, but when complaining is minimized, coming to work is more enjoyable\u2014even on Monday morning.<br \/>\nVisit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acomplaintfreeworld.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">A Complaint Free World<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Monday-morning heart attack is more than a myth. Studies published across the globe in the European Heart Journal, the American Journal of Hypertension, the British Medical Journal and others confirm the heightened incidence of heart attacks on Monday morning. The rise in heart-attack incidence coincides with the return to work after the weekend. According [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":745,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}