Employee morale and a positive workplace are achievable and here are a large collection of tips and how-to's for making it happen, reducing conflict, and increasing happiness. This is a powerpoint with sound files you also purchase at workexcel.com and a DVD, Video, Online Training WEb course is also available. All formats have sound, test, and handout. Positive workplaces promote productivity and they can play a significant role in reducing workplace violence

1. Creating a More Positive
Workplace

2. Creating a More Positive Workplace
“How do you like your job?”
• The answer most people give
isn’t so much a measured
calculation of compensation,
stress levels, and workload as it
is a gut-level response to their
company’s culture.
• It’s not about numbers; it’s how
you feel about your job.

3. Creating a More Positive Workplace
• In other words, positive cultures
make us feel good, and feeling
good translates into job
satisfaction.
• On the flip side, negative
cultures make us feel lousy.

4. Creating a More Positive Workplace
• If the money and compensation
are good enough, maybe we’ll
tough it out through a negative
environment, but we’ll never
really be happy.
• So what about you?

5. Creating a More Positive Workplace
• Is your work culture positive or
negative?
• If it’s negative, what can you do
about it?
• If an organization’s culture is
influenced from the top down,
can someone farther down the
chain actually shape the culture
into something better?

6. Creating a More Positive Workplace
• The answer is that you have a
lot more influence than you
think.
• If you’d like to work in a more
positive workplace, you don’t
have to wait for someone else
to make it happen.

7. • You can make a significantly
positive impact on your work
culture simply through your own
behavior.

8. Build trust
• Regardless of what you do for a
living, all workplaces are
essentially a collection of
relationships, and every
positive relationship starts from
a position of trust.

9. Build trust
• Simply put, the more
confidence your coworkers
have in you, the more relaxed,
comfortable, and healthy your
environment will be.
• Here’s how to encourage that
trust:

10. Build trust
• Be clear about your intentions
and expectations.
• Share credit.
• Keep the confidence of others.

11. Build trust
• Don’t gossip or talk behind
other people’s backs.
• Acknowledge your own
mistakes and weaknesses.
• Treat others as you would like
to be treated and don’t play
favorites.

12. Get to know your coworkers
• You can’t spend eight or more
hours a day with people and
NOT be affected by them.
• Just as your everyday
interactions with coworkers play
a role in shaping your mood
and outlook, you, too, have the
ability to shape the attitudes of
others.

13. Get to know your coworkers
• Don’t underestimate the impact
of that first morning exchange.
• Your words, body language,
and tone set the stage for the
rest of the day.
• Make a habit of smiling and
greeting your coworkers before
getting down to business, even
when you’re in a rush.

14. Get to know your coworkers
• Engage in small talk whenever
time permits.
• It’s a social lubricant that makes
for a friendlier, cooperative
business climate.
• On Mondays ask coworkers,
“How was your weekend?” This
open-ended question gives
others the freedom to discuss
their interests.

15. Get to know your coworkers
• Ask specific questions when
you can.
• Does your coworker have any
hobbies?
• Do her children play sports?
• Does she have a favorite
television show?

16. Get to know your coworkers
• Don’t forget to ask follow-up
questions—it signals that you’re
genuinely interested rather than
simply being polite.
• You may be surprised to see
how much a coworker perks up
when you ask several questions
about something that’s
important to her.

17. Give the benefit of the doubt
• Workplaces are so full of
competing interests,
personalities, and stress that
it’s easy to forget that most
people mean well and are just
doing their best.

18. Give the benefit of the doubt
• Assume the best of others, and
you’ll find that they’ll usually
return the favor.
• It’s a simple and effective way
to reduce fighting,
misunderstandings, and hard
feelings.

19. Give the benefit of the doubt
• Having good people skills
includes the ability to “meet
people where they’re at.”
• Don’t wait for others to come
into your world—step into
theirs.

20. Give the benefit of the doubt
• Challenge yourself to find at
least one common area of
interest with each of your
coworkers, and then cultivate
your relationship through those
shared interests.

21. Manage conflict
• Anyone who’s worked in an
environment where ongoing
personal feuds are the norm
knows how toxic unresolved
arguments can be—even to
those who aren’t directly
involved.

22. Manage conflict
• Conflict is an inescapable fact
of our work lives, but it doesn’t
have to be a dirty word.
• The key is in how it’s managed.
• Healthy conflict encourages
teamwork while boosting
creativity, productivity, and
morale.

23. Manage conflict
• The next time you find yourself
in conflict with a coworker, try
taking these positive steps
toward resolution:
• Stay calm.
• If you find yourself in the middle
of a tense disagreement,
acknowledging the emotional
temperature is a good way to
lower it.

24. Manage conflict
• You can de-escalate by saying,
“It looks like we’re all pretty
emotional right now.
• Why don’t we revisit this when
everyone’s had time to cool
off?”

25. Manage conflict
• Be an active listener.
• Invite your coworker to speak
first.
• Allow him to finish what he has
to say without interruption.
• Ask clarifying questions when
he’s finished, then restate what
you’ve heard to make sure you
understood correctly.

26. Manage conflict
• Avoid “you” statements.
• For example, instead of saying,
“You’ve been very rude to me
lately,” try leading with “I’m
feeling that you may be upset
with me.
• Is there something we should
talk about?”

27. Manage conflict
• Stay on topic.
• Work relentlessly toward
resolving the problem at hand.
• Keep it professional and avoid
getting sidetracked by other
issues.

28. Manage conflict
• Go for the win-win.
• Healthy conflict resolution
leaves everyone feeling like
they received something
valuable out of the bargain.

29. Manage conflict
• Get closure.
• Once you’ve come to
agreement, restate the solution
and follow up with “Is there
anything else we need to talk
about?”
• This will prevent unresolved
issues from simmering.

30. Praise publicly and often
• Few things brighten the day like
receiving a genuine
compliment.
• Go out of your way to publicly
recognize the unique strengths
of your coworkers, including
things that aren’t directly job-
related.

31. Praise publicly and often
• In turn, criticize privately and
constructively.
• Avoid “brutal honesty.”
• Telling the truth doesn’t require
you to be hurtful.

32. Praise publicly and often
• Before delivering criticism,
begin with a positive statement
such as “I really appreciate
your hard work and attention to
detail on this project, but I think
there are a few areas that could
use more polish.

33. Explore the space
• Take a look at your work space.
• Is it drab and dreary or bright
and cheerful?
• Studies show that our
surroundings have a significant
impact on how we feel.

34. Explore the space
• It doesn’t take much to improve
a space.
• Start with some basic
organization—a clean work
area reduces stress.
• Next, add a few splashes of
color.

35. Explore the space
• Consider a houseplant or two.
• The green will improve your
mood while the released
oxygen will perk you up.
• Finally, add a few personal
touches—photographs or
decorative items that represent
you.

36. Tighten up those meetings
• A poorly run meeting wastes
time and sucks the life out of
everyone in the room.
• Positive meetings are efficient,
constructive, and on point.

37. Tighten up those meetings
• Whether you’re running the
meeting or are a participant,
you can do your part by sticking
to these rules:
• Show up on time and come
prepared.
• Put away your electronic
devices and give others your
full attention when they’re
speaking.

38. Tighten up those meetings
• Stay on topic.
• Politely nudge ramblers and
complainers back on track.
Offer to schedule a separate
meeting to resolve side issues if
a participant just can’t let
something go.

39. Tighten up those meetings
• Be solution oriented.
• Soften objections by providing
alternatives.
• Define what actions need to be
taken before the next meeting.

40. Practice good email etiquette
• Electronic communication is
terrific for efficiency, but much
gets lost in translation without
the nonverbal cues that are so
important in helping us decode
each other’s messages.

41. Practice good email etiquette
• It’s shocking how easily the
language in an email can be
misinterpreted, even among
people who know you well.

42. Practice good email etiquette
• Here are some steps you can
take to minimize
misunderstandings and hurt
feelings:
• Consider whether email is your
best choice.
• Sometimes a face-to-face
interaction is the better choice,
particularly when dealing with
complex issues.

43. Practice good email etiquette
• Remember your manners.
• Open with a salutation.
• If you’re emailing a single
person, use his or her name in
your greeting.
• Close with a thank-you when
appropriate.

44. Practice good email etiquette
• Be concise and stay on topic.
• Break up longer messages with
paragraphs and appropriate
punctuation.
• Avoid using all caps.
• It looks as if you’re shouting.
• Avoid profanity and
abbreviations.

45. Practice good email etiquette
• Think twice before hitting “reply
all.”
• People will begin disregarding
your emails if you consistently
send them information that they
don’t need.
• Respond to emails within 24
hours.

46. Practice good email etiquette
• If you cannot, then send a brief
message that you are reviewing
the material and will respond
soon.
• Proofread your emails for
grammar, misspellings, and
most important—TONE.

47. Practice good email etiquette
• Look for word choices that
could be interpreted as rude,
disrespectful, or aggressive and
eliminate them.
• Never send an email while
you’re angry and emotional.
• Take some time to cool down,
then have someone you trust
proofread your email before
you send it.

48. Anyone can be an agent of positive change
• It’s true that culture is shaped
by leadership.
• But remember that leadership
is about influence not position.
• That’s why you don’t need a
title, a corner office, or anyone’s
permission to start shaping
your work culture into
something better.

49. Anyone can be an agent of positive change
• The encouraging thing is that
you don’t have to change your
entire company to reap the
rewards.
• Most people’s mood and
outlook are heavily influenced
by their immediate
surroundings.

50. Anyone can be an agent of positive change
• When you’re consistently
positive, optimistic, and
cheerful, you tend to attract
others and sway them to your
way of thinking.
• That’s why pockets of positive
culture can exist even within
unhealthy systems.

51. Anyone can be an agent of positive change
• Positivity is a habit, and
changing a culture takes time.
• Stick with it even if you don’t
see a difference right away.

52. Anyone can be an agent of positive change
• Be the person that everyone is
happy to see at the beginning
of the day and you’ll find things
around you gradually begin to
improve—your own happiness
most of all.

53. Thank you for
participating in
this program.