Like a bad hair day, there comes a morning that forebodes of mishappenings and disasters. Of course, everyone, once in a while has a lousy morning and things look grim in spite of the shiny sun outside. There are a lot of things an employee can do to lift his/her mood, but can a manager really help in that? Here’s our guide to keeping up the mood in your office:
1. Remember and tell your employees that the past does not equal the future.
Do not blame everything on bad luck. A social psychology theory, fundamental attribution error states that people usually attribute failures to external causes (like bad luck, bad team, etc.), but success to internal causes (like my hard work, dedication, etc.) Avoid falling for this common error and start taking responsibility for your actions. But while you do that, remember the past does not equal future and so you have a fair chance at performing better, if only you gave it an honest try. Managers must exemplify this philosophy and reward those who believe and follow it.
2. Refuse to make self-fulfilling prophesies.
If you believe the rest of your day will be as challenging as what’s already happened, then rest assured: You’ll end up doing something (or saying) something that will make sure that your prediction comes true. Managers must try to figure who is having a hard day and help the employee get out of the vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophesies.
3. Get a sense of proportion.
Think about the big picture: Unless something life-changing has happened (like the death of a loved one), chances are that in two weeks, you’ll have forgotten completely about whatever it was that has your shorts in a twist today. Managers play a crucial role here. Managers are the mentors, the teachers and most likely they have gone through these hard days themselves sometime in their career. They need to believe in their employee’s potential and show them the bigger picture.
4. Focus on what’s going well.
The primary reason you’re convinced it’s a bad day is that you’re focusing on whatever went wrong. However, for everything going badly, there are probably dozens of things going well. Make list, and post it where it’s visible. A social recognition by the manager or peers in such cases can make all the difference and change the view completely. Suddenly it seems as if things are not that bad!
5. Eventually it is about your attitude
Just as an attitude of doom and gloom makes you see more problems, facing the future with a sense of wonder makes you alive to all sorts of wonderful things that are going on, right now, everywhere around you.
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