attitudinal change for improved productivity

ATTITUDINAL CHANGE FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this training, you will be able to:

• Determine what an attitude is

• Identify how attitudes are developed and/or influenced

• Identify wrong and right work attitudes

• Discover strategies for managing your own attitude and that of others

• Name and understand the factors that determine or influence our attitudes

• Recognize other factors that help in creating a productive workplace

OUTLINE

1. Attitude defined

2. How are attitudes determined and influenced?

3. Can attitudes be changed?

4. Creating a productive work place

ATTITUDE DEFINED Session 1

ATTITUDE DEFINED

Attitude is A state of mind or feeling with regard to some matter

A mental position with regard to a fact or situation

A feeling or emotion toward a fact or situation

the way we react or respond to people, objects and institutions on issues, facts or state.

an outward expression of our state of mind.

Attitude is a mirror of the mind.

ATTITUDE DEFINED

Attitudes start from the mind but do not remain there. They manifest as behaviour.

We see people’s attitudes in their

Actions and inactions

Work ethics

Body language

Speech

Tone of voice etc.

Attitudes start

from the mind!

ATTITUDE DEFINED

Attitude Is a virus that can be contagious.

Has identifiable warning signs or symptoms

Has a cure – it can be changed

Attitude is everything. It impacts everything we do in life: Our personal lives

Our mindset and approach to life

Work

Success or failure

Social interactions

The kinds of people we interact with and how we interact

ATTITUDE CAN BE DEFINED AS ONE WORD…LIFE

•It makes an incredible difference in your LIFE.

• It can be a powerful tool for positive action.

• It can be a poison that cripples you.

• It dictates whether you’re living life or life’s living you.

THOUGHTS THAT BREED WRONG ATTITUDES

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I’m just fed up with

this job! I hate it Why does Brenda spend so much

time with Ama these days? I’m sure

they’re talking about me My boss is so difficult and

demanding, he’s a pain to work

with.

Why was I not copied in the

email? There’s something fishy

going on

Adjoa is just lazy. She can’t finish

her reports after the deadline

was even extended

Its not my fault the new client

left! There are so many

competitors these days

THOUGHTS THAT BREED RIGHT ATTITUDES

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This job is tough but I like meeting

new clients everyday

My boss has high standards

and expectations. I need to put

in a little more effort.

Brenda and Ama seem to

like each other a lot, nice

friendship there

Adjoa must be facing some

problems. She wasn’t able to

finish her reports even though the

deadline was extended

I’m sure she forgot to copy

me in the email

I must apologize to the rest

of the team for losing our

new client. I did not do

proper follow up.

SPOTTING WRONG WORK ATTITUDES

Not a team player

Does the minimum amount of work or Pretends to work

Offers no solutions to issues

Usually late to work

Disrespectful to colleagues

Insubordinate

Usually unhappy and takes it out on others

Always negative and pessimistic Has something bad to say about

anything or anybody

Usually in a bad mood/Unpleasant

Gossip

Clock Watcher Leaves work even before official

closing hours

SPOTTING WRONG WORK ATTITUDES

Prima donna Thinks very highly of herself

everyone else is below her level

Defensive & argumentative Would never accept that s/he is at

fault

Work to Rule Does not put in extra effort in the

work or go the extra mile

Abrasive Normally uses very harsh language

or tone with colleagues

Rude Uses wrong language

Confrontational Very cantankerous

Disruptive Cannot control his/her temper

CONSEQUENCES OF WRONG WORK ATTITUDES

Erosion of team spirit

Morale suffers

Conflicts

Poor quality service

Reputation of the organization suffers

CONSEQUENCES OF WRONG WORK ATTITUDES

Frustration on the part of

others because they have to

put up with the bad attitude

Communication suffers

The virus spreads and productivity

suffers

BENEFITS OF RIGHT WORK ATTITUDES

Fosters Teamwork

Solves Problems

Makes For Congenial Atmosphere

Increases Productivity

Breeds Loyalty

THE GOOD NEWS

Just like most viruses, attitudes are contagious, they can easily be passed around and others will catch it too.

So a good attitude can offset a bad one in a work situation if other colleagues catch the good attitude virus

But before we delve into how to

change attitudes, let’s first

consider how attitudes are formed

HOW ARE ATTITUDES DETERMINED AND INFLUENCED

Session 2

DETERMINE & INFLUENCE EXPLAINED

Let’s begin by explaining our two key words

Determine means To cause (something) to occur in a particular way or to have a

particular nature.

It connotes the root cause of something

So first of all, we want to understand why a person’s attitude is of a certain nature ie. the root cause or the reason why a person is the way s/he is

DETERMINE & INFLUENCE EXPLAINED

Influence means The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or

behaviour of someone or something.

In other words, to influence character means to shape it, or have an effect on it.

If something is an influencing factor, it is not the root cause but only has an effect.

Factors which influence attitude are therefore not the root cause of a person’s attitude but may affect it.

Understanding these 2 terms will help in having clarity on the issues discussed in this session.

HOW ARE ATTITUDES DETERMINED?

At the very onset, attitudes are invisible, not only to onlookers but sometimes to the person portraying the attitude as well.

Attitudes can therefore be likened to the iceberg because only 10% of the iceberg can be seen.

90% of the iceberg remains below sea level.

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HOW ARE ATTITUDES DETERMINED?

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Attitude

Above sea level

Below sea level

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE OUR ATTITUDE

Attitude

Education

Experiences Environment

ENVIRONMENT

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• Parental/Siblings Influences

Home

• Peer Pressure

School

• Supportive Or Critical Bosses/Colleagues

Work

• Television, Newspapers, Magazines, Movies

Media

• Traditions & Beliefs

Cultural Background

• Norms & Values

Social Environment

Religious Background

EXPERIENCES & EDUCATION

Experiences

Our behaviour changes according to our experiences with various people

Education

Education broadens our horizon and influences our thinking, actions, behaviours and attitude.

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Based on these factors, we can either develop a positive attitude or a

negative attitude.

People with a positive attitude are usually

Optimistic

Confident

Caring

Assertive

Patient

Humble

People with a negative attitude are normally

Unhappy

Pessimistic

Unpleasant

Defensive

Argumentative

Confrontational

Disruptive

POSITIVE & NEGATIVE ATTITUDES

Benefits of a positive attitude

Increases Confidence

Reduces stress

Career success

High productivity

Improves interpersonal relations

Is energizing

Effects of a negative attitude

Self doubt

Poor self esteem

Increases stress

Bitterness

Resentment

Poor Health

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR ATTITUDES

We have just discussed factors that determine or cause people to have either a positive or negative attitude. These are the root causes of whether we develop a positive or

negative attitude generally

We will now discuss factors that influence, affect or shape our attitudes.

Sometimes a person may generally have a positive attitude but on a particular day or in a specific instance their attitude may be shaped, influenced or affected by an event, situation, a person etc.

Sometimes stress or a difficult situation can influence our attitude for a short while and equally cause havoc in our workplaces.

Factors that influence attitude

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE

A combination of these situations can turn someone with a positive attitude into an unpleasant work colleague on a particular day.

How should we handle such events that cause our attitudes to change?

How do we relate with others when we realize that we are under unusual stress on a particular day which may make us uncooperative and unpleasant to our at work mates?

MANAGING YOUR ATTITUDE

Make colleagues

aware that you’re

having a bad day

and apologize in

advance for any

wrong attitude?

Identify your stress

relievers and use

them… music? ice

cream? a good

conversation?

Explain your

circumstances to your

colleagues and ask

for their help with

work for that day.

Take the day off?

If possible

In other

words,

KNOW

YOURSELF!

CAN ATTITUDES BE CHANGED? Session 3

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Attitude change takes time, effort, and determination, but it can be done. It is important not to expect to change a person’s attitudes overnight.

Remember that attitudes are formed over a lifetime through an individual’s socialization process which includes his or her formation of values and beliefs during childhood years, and influenced by family, religion, culture and socioeconomic factors.

This socialization process affects a person’s attitude toward work as well as their behavior.

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Before you seek to change a colleague’s attitude however, you need to change your own

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. First and foremost-be honest with yourself

2. Recognize warning signs negative thoughts, blaming behavior, pessimism

3. Use positive affirmations and think positive thoughts About your work colleagues, customers, your job, friends etc.

4. Visualize your day before it begins Determine that you will not give anything or anyone the power to

change your positive attitude for that day

5. Clearly determine the goals you want to achieve for the day

6. Put your head in the game and focus.

TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR OWN ATTITUDE

Don’t associate with people who have hostile attitudes, you might get infected Remember attitude is contagious whether good or bad

Practice optimism and positive self-talk

Dwell on positives

Give others the benefit of the doubt

Become a problem-solver

Choose your battles carefully

Use self-control

TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK

Manage stress

Empathize with colleagues That way you will not be unnecessarily critical of them

Look for creative ways to make the tasks you do at work more interesting.

Try sharing or exchanging tasks with a colleague - monotonous vrs. challenging.

Ask for more responsibilities.

Avoid people who discourage you

HOW CAN MANAGEMENT CHANGE ATTITUDES?

Employees perception about how the organization is managed also plays a role in determining their attitude to work.

For example, if employees believe that management is not concerned about their welfare, does not treat them fairly etc. they will adopt a nonchalant attitude to work.

Some of the possible ways management changes poor work attitudes is by: Providing information

People are more likely to cooperate when they understand what is going on. So instead of simply giving instructions or orders from management, management should dialogue with employees and get them involved


Use of Fear Management uses punitive measures to get people to do the right thing. This method however, needs to be backed by a monitoring system where employees can be regularly monitored to ensure that they are doing the right thing.

Acknowledge concerns Don’t gloss over complaints. If appropriate, acknowledge employees’ point of view and provide clarification on misunderstandings.


Encourage humor Humor can diffuse tension and ease stress. But humor should be positive and lighthearted, and should never occur at the expense of others.

Suggest privacy, if appropriate If a major setback or crisis occurs at work for an employee, encourage the person to take a few minutes to be alone. That way, the individual can work through strong emotions and avoid scenes or actions that he or she may later regret.

Praise, praise, praise When successes occur, share them with others and praise those who made them happen. Recognizing achievements makes everyone feel good.

HANDLING A COLLEAGUE WITH A BAD ATTITUDE

Accept and acknowledge personality differences When you spend 8 hours a day with people, it is likely that they’re

eventually going to do something to offend you.

Small issues will be magnified

Personality differences lead to varying work styles, which can easily turn into conflict.


Kill them with kindness If someone has been rude to you, or said something that might have

offended you, try being extra pleasant when chatting rather than being offended and refusing to speak to the person. Your kindness may help them realize and be a little ashamed of their own bad behavior.

Or find at least one thing about that colleague you like and focus on that rather than the traits that annoy you. Find ways to center your conversation on topics that interest you both ie. football, TV programmes etc. and perhaps what you disliked about that person will be lessened.


Try avoidance tactics

Finding ways to simply avoid the negative colleague is a helpful solution that can possibly solve the problem without an actual confrontation.

While this does not necessarily solve underlying issues or conflicts, it may not matter much if the ‘problem’ is out of sight and out of mind.


Address the Issue While avoidance tactics can occasionally work they’re not always

successful since they don’t address the underlying issue.

If your challenge with a colleague is personal in nature rather than related to the work itself, you may need to approach them directly with whatever your issue is. Eg. If they’re cracking inappropriate jokes, tell them that it makes you uncomfortable

By not addressing these personal conflicts when they arise, you simply let them fester inside, and then you end up disliking the person far more than you may have if you had brought it up straightaway.


If the challenge with the colleague is because of something that is related to the work rather than personal, it can be a different situation which may require going to your supervisor first.

In some instances, though, you still might be able to handle it on a personal level. If you’re leading a work team and someone isn’t keeping up with the

work, you can absolutely handle that on your own.

If your colleague routinely takes personal phone calls when the boss leaves the office, you can mention that you’ve noticed, and let them know that unless they stop, you’ll be bringing it up to the supervisor.


Speak to your bosses

There are certainly situations that warrant approaching your boss but it should be the last resort.

Before you go to your boss, talk to other colleagues you’re friendly with as to their feelings about the offending colleague. After you tell your boss about the issue, he or she may ask around to

see if others have noticed the problem as well. Knowing that your coworkers will corroborate your story will give you confidence and add some weight to your case.

If you’re the only one who’s noticed the problem, you might consider the possibility that you’ve managed to make a mountain out of a molehill, and that bringing it up with a supervisor will backfire on you.


Once you decide to approach a superior about the issue, make sure that you’re talking about it in terms of how it is affecting the business and your

performance.

Don’t tell a story of emotional wounds.

Make an argument that the person is costing the organization money.

YOUR ATTITUDE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHOICES YOU MAKE IN LIFE…

“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

Victor E. Frankl

CREATING A PRODUCTIVE WORK PLACE

Session 4

CREATING A PRODUCTIVE WORKPLACE

Productivity at the workplace is crucial for any organization since it affects the bottom line. The more productive employees are the more profitable the

organization will be, all things being equal.

Attitude, as discussed, plays a key role in enhancing or weakening productivity in the work place. Aside attitude, a number of factors also contribute to ensuring employee productivity.

Let’s discuss a few

TRUST

High trust organizations: Experience ½ the average turnover of industry peers

Have higher productivity and profitability

Have higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty

Constructive strategic alliances

Productive relationships are based on trust often unrecognized and taken for granted

It’s a resource that increases with use

enables coordination without coercion

enables commitments to be undertaken in situations of high risk

TRUST

Reasons for low trust in organizations:

Lack of inclusion

Perceptions of vulnerability

No positive attachment to a “boss”

Previous experiences – yours or other peoples

CLEAR GOALS AND FEEDBACK

Employees are more motivated if they know what they are expected to achieve.

They need to know what they should be doing as well as their assigned roles.

Without clear or explicit expectations, people tend to find excuses when they fail to achieve targets.

There must be clarity at the onset: define what is expected of everyone, and how people are expected to perform their assigned tasks and responsibilities

Short-term goals, in particular, are effective in encouraging employees to properly manage their speed in doing tasks to meet targets.

CLEAR GOALS AND FEEDBACK

It is also important to provide feedback or show that employees are being supervised.

Accomplishments should be acknowledged, while errors or failures in meeting targets should be promptly addressed.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Providing opportunities for developing skills or advancing professionally helps employees to learn new skills and improve their productivity on the job.

It is not enough that they have mastered the skills needed to efficiently accomplish their current assignments. People need to realize that there are other things they can do, so that they can progress to higher positions. If employees are not encouraged to develop professionally, that

may become motivation for them to seek a new company.

EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION

Effective communication reduces errors and builds confidence. Likewise, a lack of effective communication will frustrate employees and make them feel less important.

Communication is a crucial aspect of business operations. Without an effective system of communication in place, it will be difficult to

achieve goals and even function properly.

Effective and efficient communication means that employees should know the hierarchy and expertise within the company. They should know who to reach out to regarding their concerns.

MOTIVATION

The need for

• employee motivation,

•the proactive involvement of managers, and

• the use of technologies and systems that greatly help employees in doing their work more efficiently.

RESOURCES

1. De Jager, P. (2005). The Consequence of Attitude.

2. ‘Attitude is Everything, Choose a Positive Sales Attitude’ - Cruise Planners Annual Sales Conference (May 17,2007)

3. www.crmlearning.com; Attitude Virus: Curing Negativity in the Workplace, 1/5/07.

4. Triandis, H. (1971). Attitude and Attitude Change. New York: Wiley

5. Dr Tabassum Alvi . Attitude

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attitudinal change for improved productivity

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