IS IT POSSIBLE TO CHANGE AN EMPLOYEE'S BAD ATTITUDE?
By Norm Bobay, President - hireMAX
July 30, 2009
Why is this question so important? One reason is because attitude determines action! All deliberate actions are the result of an inward belief system, and when that belief system is skewed, are actions become skewed. Thus a bad attitude means lower production, diminished quality and lost customers. Most outward actions, such as tardiness and chronic absenteeism are an outward sign of an inward problem. Another reason is because a bad attitude is often contagious! It seems that an individual with a bad attitude wants to convert everyone else to their way of thinking so as to justify their actions. Misery loves company
! Thus, when a bad attitude is left unchecked, it becomes a cancerous growth that endangers the whole culture of the company.
So how do we change a person who has a bad attitude? We can't! An attitude is a personal belief system that is owned and controlled by the individual themselves. We can at best try to influence their attitude, but if they do not want to change, they won't. Am I saying that at the first sign of a bad attitude we should eliminate that employee? No! If that were true we would all have 100% turnover because we all have had a bad day. But a bad attitude is much more than a bad day. So what can we do? Communication goes a long way in finding out if the attitude is set in concrete or not. Perhaps their attitude has resulted out of frustration on the job because they have not received the proper training to do their job satisfactorily. Maybe the change in attitude came about because of a change in their personal life and a leave of absence is in order. And just maybe, they are in the wrong job? Whatever the case, we will not know until we ask.
And how can we keep our attitude in check? By living by this simple philosophy: Life is never as bad as you think it is, but it is always only as good as you think it is!