Implications of negative talk at the workplace

Aldous Huxley voices his mind with these words: “Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons.”

Words have a lasting effect .They can either fortify and build up or uproot and dismantle that which has taken years of toil and moil to build .Talk of debasing to the level of the demons!

You have probably heard these words before: “If you work for a man ,for heaven’s sake work for him .If he supplies your wages which supply you with bread , work for him .Speak well of him and stand by the institution he represents .If put in a pinch , an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness .If you must constantly argue, nullify , condemn and eternally disparage , resign your position ; and when you are outside damn your hearts content .For as long as you are part of an institution do not condemn it .If you do, you are loosening the tendons that are holding you to the institution; and the first high wind that comes along , you will be uprooted and blown away probably never knowing the reason why.”

What nuggets of truth these words are! They paint a picture of a subtle yet ‘deleterious’ crime against success at the workplace – negative talk.

Even discussing the company you work for in nasty terms in a public place can do you in. “As a general rule , he says , “if you think negatively about an organisation , you likely shouldn’t be there.”

When you obdurately block your mind from perceiving the good that your boss, workplace, and fellow colleagues have to offer then negative talk is inevitable.

A sour attitude towards the boss and the workplace environment does not augur well with your success at the place of work. If the thought uppermost in your mind is ‘I want out’ it may be good to pause and ruminate over the nitty-gritty.What is your priority in this issue? That notwithstanding , wanting out may be a politic thing to do under the circumstances instead of wallowing in the miry bog of negative talk .The tentacles of negative talk have the intrinsic ability to constrict life out of other employees ; the life to work enthusiastically and consistently.

The boss may have done one or two things that really do not measure up to your definition of justice .. Be that as it may , no single man on this planet can boast of infallibility as one of his long suits . None.

Instead of broadcasting the boss’s mistake all over town and opening the can of worms right in front of anyone who lends a listening ear, it’s better to realise that no one is perfect. Everyone is in need of gracious forgiving most of the time.

Furthermore,you need the boss, as he is the top man in the corporate ladder , to help you channel your career efforts towards the acme of competence and proficiency.

Leave the boss out as a topic of discussion during your lunch time casual talk. Most of the time they are not as black as they are painted.

The workplace {working environment} has an imposing bearing on a person’s life : this is the place where one spends most of his waking hours.

When a person breeds disenchantment for the workplace in his heart he does an injustice to himself.

Acrid and acrimonious remarks about his job and the institution he stands for are not uncommon from such a person. Negative talk reeks from his every pore.

He laments about the blindness of the management to his continued service and the number of hours he puts in. He laments that a colleague who has only been on the job for a few months has a pay rise while he, who has been on the job for two years , received his first pay rise after one year. Unfair. Inconsiderate. Inhuman. Demoralizing. That’s what he calls the whole thing.

Anyone can be a negative talker if one is not careful with the words chosen to express ideas.

Negative talking at the workplace curtails progress and checks the faucet of enthusiastic action. It’s factory is the dark recess of people’s minds.

Here the seemingly harmless steam roller is set in motion . With it’s wake things that were just mole hills are magnified and blown out of proportion.

Proponents of negative talking can do with some advice: look upon your job as your life line; look upon your boss as a viable channel and by whose help you can rise up the ladder; take things in your stride and adopt acceptable of solving problems and settling differences; pause before you talk.

The words of the famous Samwel Langhorne Clemens {Mark Twain} ring true to us today : “The right word may be effective , but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”