How to deal with negative people at work? 7 Effective Tips

Every workplace has some negative people whom you can’t avoid. And one of the most frustrating things at the workplace is being around negative people and not being able to ignore them. Many of you would have experienced constant negativity at the workplace. I did too. I had the most toxic boss you can ever think of, to the point I thought of quitting my job. But then I realised that if I quit my job, they win. Quitting is one of the signs of a weak-minded person and a weak personality that I am not. So, I decided to fight back and turn around the table. I fought negativity with positivity and saw the entire team turning positive ultimately. There were two options- either I become negative myself and be one of them or embrace my positivity and become an agent of change. I carefully chose my side and emerged as a victor. It is how I choose to deal with negativity at the workplace, and so can you. Here are my tips on how to deal with negative people at work. 

How to stay positive at work when someone is negative?

Dealing with negative people at work can be draining and hampers your productivity. And the biggest challenge is figuring out how to stay positive at work when someone is negative. It is not uncommon to encounter negative co-workers whom you cannot avoid. However, it is important to remain professional and positive when completing your work and dealing with negative co-workers. Now, this can be demanding as you have to work with negative co-workers every day, and therefore, it is best to handle them maturely and professionally. One way is to become a place of understanding for them and let them confide in you. Doing so may help you discover a different aspect of their personality unfold as they open up with you. And the least you can do is lift them and be their support system. Other times you can help the negative co-worker achieve what they are looking for and supply them with resources to attain solutions to their problems. It will create a positive atmosphere around you and eventually help the negative person turn positive and create a win-win situation for both. So the best way to stay positive at work when someone is negative is to first believe in yourself and then deploy your positivity so that you can have negative people confide in you, and then you can help them achieve what they want. It will turn the negative people positive and keep your positivity intact.

How to deal with negative people at work?

Okay, let us come back to the question: how do deal with negative people at work? Let us figure it out. Navigating around pessimistic, melancholic and hostile people at work can be really challenging for your journey and dealing with such people can be tricky. But there are a few tested things that you can do to handle such people at work and yet remain professional and conducive at the workplace. These things worked for me, and I am sure they will work for you as well. 

Here are seven ways you can manage and deal with negative people at work:

1. Do not try to manage them

So how to deal with negative people at work? Do not try to manage them! Yes, you heard it right. The best way to manage negative people is to not be around them and try to manage them. It is better to eliminate them from your life altogether. It is what I do as much as possible in my own life. If you keep yourself surrounded by negative people at work, you will yourself become negative and unhappy. And you do not want to do that as it will take you away from reaching your true potential. 

If I cannot avoid negative people at work and my work environment has become toxic due to extreme negativity, I would look out for new opportunities. If there is a lot of negativity around you in the office that is hampering your productivity and you are not able to do anything about it, you have to start looking out. You can look out for other possibilities like internal job transfers, different teams or projects or a different company to work with. Or you can also consider the option of being an entrepreneur and be your own boss. If you are an entrepreneur and have someone negative in your team, you have an easy decision to make. Even if someone is really skilled and good at their job but has a negative mindset, you have to let them go. In an entrepreneurial setup, you call the shots and letting go of negative people can be an easy decision to make. 

It is important to note that you cannot be surrounded by negative people, as they only do not bring you down, but they will bring everyone down around them. Therefore, you should surround yourself with positive people who are excited about the project you are trying to build and are invested in your vision so that you can focus in the right direction. 

2. Limit your exposure to negative people at the workplace

If you are forced to deal with negative people at your office or the workplace by virtue of factors out of your control, I would suggest you limit how much exposure you have to them. It means you have to limit the time you spend with them to a bare minimum just to get whatever project you are trying to do and get it done. 

So by now, you might be wondering why the author is giving negative points for dealing with negative people in the workplace. Do not try to manage them or avoid them or limit your exposure to them. Yea, the first two points are pretty negative themselves. Right? Instead, you want to help them, be a positive influence and help them overcome their negativity. Many of you may want to build negative co-workers up rather than take a negative approach. Yes, it is definitely a possibility. But there is one word of caution- this approach has a high opportunity cost. 

When you spend your time and energy at the workplace managing someone who is negative, it eats up a lot of your valuable time and emotional capital that you can instead invest in being productive at the workplace. A negative co-worker or teammate can completely drain you of your positivity because they are so different from what you are. And to get them to a place where they can be happy is such a big journey that you can spend that time helping ten other people and helping yourself instead. 

In my experience, negative people take the most work and effort to turn around, and usually, they are not worth your time compared to the other people you could help instead. It is the opportunity cost I was talking about, and it is exactly why the first two points I mentioned about how to deal with negative people at work are a little negative on the face of it.  

So, here are a few positive ways that you can apply to address your question about how to deal with negative people at work.

3. Be an inspiration to the negative people at work

Okay, so you cannot avoid negative people as you have to work with them as a team. They are super important, and you cannot sidestep them because you do not have any other option. Plus, you want to be a force for good and be an inspiration to build people up. So how to go about it?

I have seen that when people first get together in the office setting, they start to align together with time. In fact, it happens with everything in life. One corollary of this is that if you are around toxic people, you are more likely to be toxic on an ongoing basis (here are a few signs of toxic people to look out for). For example, if you are around people who are into fitness, you are more likely to be fit yourself. If you are around complainers, you start to complain more and whine about every little thing. In fact, you become your own environment! 

But if you have that awareness, you can be an inspiration for the negative person at the workplace, and by letting them be around you at the office, you can pull them up. I will give you my example. I used to work at an IT consulting firm, and there was this lady who was the executive assistant to the CEO. She used to handle all the calls on behalf of the CEO. Every time the phone rang, she answered very rudely and frustratingly. I was her friend, but I was against this attitude of hers. I used to tell her how I would do things and the kind of vibe I want to put out when speaking to the other person on call. And by spending more and more time with her, I was able to influence her positively. Eventually, she got buoyant and started answering her phone happily and cheerfully. Although it took time, she picked it up! Now I moved on to another job, I am not sure if she still continues to put out the positive vibe when she answers the phone. But one thing is sure till the time I am with someone, I am a positive force- you cannot be in my circle and not gain a little more belief. 

This conviction should also reflect in your personality. You have to be an inspiration to people around you and make them feel positive about themselves. It is one of the best ways of dealing with negative people at work. The danger, however, is that when you come in contact with a negative personality, you do not lose your positivity. So, rather than having negative people at work pulling you towards them, you pull them towards yourself, make them more positive and be an agent of change. 

4. Become a place of understanding

I think a lot of people’s negativity is actually deeply rooted in something else beyond what they are complaining about. Maybe their negativity is originating from past trauma or negative experiences that they are struggling with or from a wounded inner child that is yet to be healed. Sometimes their negativity can also be stemming from their insecurities and concerns that they can’t handle themselves. And if you really want to deal with negative people in a positive way, you need to figure the reasons out by becoming a safe haven for them to confide in. 

I had a situation with a negative person in my team. They were in a habit of constantly putting others down. They were also being paranoid about what the company’s situation is going to be like in the future. They used to gossip a lot and spread rumours. I was fed up listening to their complaints every single day. And whenever I asked them how their day was, they said it was terrible. It went to a point where I started feeling terrible about myself and my situation at work. Finally, I decided to address the pink elephant in the room. I made him sit down and had a long tiring conversation with him. 

I obviously wanted to find out the reason for him being so negative on a daily basis. Ultimately, after a lot of conversation, he revealed that he was being paranoid about losing his job and that he gets up every morning with a fear that he won’t be able to feed his family. He feared that he won’t be able to go on the vacation he promised his wife. Although I couldn’t promise him job security, I was able to provide him with the security and safety that he has someone at work that he can look forward to. With time, I was able to see him become more positive at work and also towards me, which made my life at work and working with him a lot easier. So, the next time you come across someone negative at work and before you write them off, try to become a place of understanding. This way you will also be able to form more meaningful and positive relationships at work and turn around the entire vibe from negative to positive.

5. Figure out their dream and desires

The most dangerous thing you can do is to tell someone about their dreams and aspirations. But when you figure it out, you can work on how you can help this person achieve those things they want and push that person to get past those limited beliefs. 

A negative mindset keeps people away from accomplishing those dreams. A negative person can have a certain kind of dream and aspirations that they feel impossible to attain. They may feel that the world is against them and that people at work are conspiring to keep pushing them down. But deep down, they have a dream that they want to accomplish. So, if you can figure out what their dreams are all about and then find ways to help them accomplish them, you can turn around the tables. You can do so by being their friend, an accountability partner, and being their motivation boost. You can also share a few resources to help them lift up and get them heading towards that goal. But how will it impact negative people turn positive? The answer is that it will be highly unlikely to make a progress towards those dreams and be negative and unhappy at the same time. So once you guide negative personalities along that path and encourage them, it will help turn them from being negative to super positive. 

6. Recognize the good behaviour

Recognizing good behaviour is like a parenting skill where you either punish the bad behaviour or reward good behaviour. At the workplace, you may not be in the position to punish their bad behaviour. But you can certainly recognize their good behaviour. I had encountered this situation where I couldn’t do anything about the negative person at work, and I chose to ignore the negative behaviour. But anytime they did something positive for me or showed a positive mindset, or shared something that was happy, funny or positive, I always made a point to encourage them, thank and appreciate them. And not in a fake way. Not in a way that they see obviously right through, but in a genuine way for the thing that they did for me and thanked them. I often showed my gratitude by buying them a coffee or a cupcake as a gesture and token of appreciation. This is important as negative people are not surrounded by a lot of positivity in general and it is precisely how they become so negative in life. And when you recognize the smallest of the good deed they did for you by giving them appreciation and reward, they would like to want to do it again and again. It will ultimately help them break the pattern of negative thoughts and come out of it. 

7. Help them find a happier place to be in 

Sometimes, negative people are so overwhelmed by their position and their work, they might feel they are no more passionate about it anymore. And you as someone working with them, now know that they lack the desire to stick to the role and want to move on. In fact, everyone around would be really happy if they moved on. It requires a little understanding of what their dreams are, and in most probability, they are doing totally different from what they want. And it is making them negative and unhappy. 

Apart from this, when negative people see others around them living their dreams, accomplishing great things in the fields, it makes them feel worse about themselves. And it is obvious to experience some negativity and frustration as they feel stuck while others seem to be living their lives. And when you help them follow their dreams, push them to pursue that passion and find a happier place, it does wonder for their well-being. In fact, it is great for them as it is what they want. And it is great for you because now you do not have to deal with the negative person around you. Not anymore! 

So these are seven actionable tips on how to deal with negative people at work that you can apply to navigate negativity at the workplace and achieve your zen. 

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