Bad Attitudes At Work

[blas87]

This doesn't really fit anywhere else, and it's kind of an open-ended issue anyway that is more than just "yes" or "no" in argument or debate. Some of the questions I am going to start this out by asking may seem like "yes" or "no" or almost survey-like, but I'd really just want to discuss/debate and elaborate off of the generic questions.

Is a bad attitude at work always a bad thing?

Would you say that you have a bad attitude regarding your job?

Would you stand up for a coworker or justify their bad attitude, if you felt they do have merit in feeling that way?

And let's take this and go with it. I'll start.

No, I don't think a bad attitude at work is always a bad thing. Always is kind of an absolute anyway, which was probably not my best choice of words, but I couldn't really find a neutral word for it. My personal opinion is that it has to go by case to case, person to person, and how that person's overall attitude in general is. Are they a nasty person with a bad overall attitude, or do they just have a bad attitude regarding doing their job or interacting with others? Is it just that they bitch a lot? Where do we even define bad attitude? Is it concrete and stone, or is it just a perception?

I think I have a slightly negative attitude about work, but I wouldn't call it bad in general. I come to work in the best of mood that I can muster (without being too fake or trying to hide something if I'm obviously ill or something is wrong, but I also try not to get into theatrics like a lot of my coworkers do), and I try to treat everyone with kindness and respect, even people that I feel don't deserve it, for the sake of trying to keep peace, since that usually means better productivity.

I have a coworker whom a few tend to talk about behind his back and verbally bash him for being negative and having an attitude. His attitude does really suck overall, but if I were in his position, I'd be the exact same way, just probably not as mean to others as he overall can be.

[MaggieTheCat]

I think venting about work or certain situations at work is fine, and normal, and healthy. Nothing in this world is perfect, including jobs, and if someone doesn't vent when something is bothering them, it's just going to compound until they explode or have a breakdown.

On the other hand, having a bad attitude all the time isn't any better. At my last job (which was very similar to blas's except we also had a call center, and I worked back and forth between our call center and warehouse so I knew everyone) there were a lot of people who complained about everything. They bitched that the pay sucked and they got next to nothing on their paychecks after stuff like insurance was taken out, and then they'd bitch when mandatory overtime was posted. They'd bitch about the customers, about management, and about the rules. etc. etc. etc. That's not healthy either. There needs to be a happy medium, just like in any kind of relationship.

I think I had a decent attitude about work, but it got worse the longer I worked there and the more responsibilities they gave me. I liked to be working in lower management, but I was also doing way, way more than what my job description stated and I felt like I should've been paid more to compensate that, but I wasn't. I was also stressed, not just mentally but also physically since they had me doing so many jobs and working a different shift every day. Sometimes I'd only go 9 hours or less between shifts. I complained to my husband (boyfriend, at the time) a lot about it, and he was patient with me and listened and sympathized which certainly helped. But I can tell I'm a lot healthier now that I'm out of that job. I don't complain as much (obviously I don't complain about the job anymore, but just in general I think I have a better attitude as well), and I'm healthier physically since I have a pretty normal sleep schedule again. I used to get a lot of headaches and migraines at that job, and I don't get nearly as many now.

[linguist]

A bad attitude about work is not necessarily a bad thing, but a bad attitude at work is, particularly if you work as part of a team. One person's bad attitude can drag down the morale, thus the productivity, of the entire team. I see it all the time in my shop. I have one person working there who has the most piss poor attitude of anyone I've ever worked with, and nobody can stand to work with her. I'd really like to get rid of her,but unfortunately I can't because, attitude aside, she comes in every day on time and does her job (and does it well). However, on days when she works, productivity is noticeably lower among those who have to work with her than on days when she isn't there, even among my most productive people.