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The Importance of Attitude in Workplace
By
J. Kelvin Fallah, BSc, MA, CIPD
March 27, 2017
Introduction
Attitude is a settled way of feeling or thinking with regard to something or someone and is
reflected in the behavior of a person. In the setting of a workplace, positive attitude is
particularly important. The relationships and ultimately performance of any workplace is highly
influenced by the attitude of the team. If workers for instance have the feeling that they are not
valued by the organization or respected by their leaders then the level of moral is likely to be
low. On the other hand when workers actually feel that the organization values, them recognizes
and appreciates their contribution, then their motivation and commitment to the organization is
higher. It is therefore very important that organization and leaders deliberate cultivate good
workplace cultures by promoting positive attitudes among the employees. This paper evaluates
the importance of attitude in the workplace.
Cultivating a culture of positive attitude in the workplace can help the workforce not only
accomplish their assignments faster but also in better manner. To a very great extent, workforce
performance depends on the relationships individuals have with others as well as their superiors.
Good workplace relationships can only be enjoyed when every employ has the right attitude with
regard to work and colleagues. Positive energy transforms work into a pleasure and this way,
employees do not just enjoy their work but also find their goals easily achievable. When the
workforce is happy, enjoy their work and are satisfied with their workplace, the product is a
higher motivation, increased performance and ultimately better quality of service to customers.
The organization benefits from positive workplace attitude because happy customers recommend
the brand to their friends, the customer numbers increase, sales volumes go up and ultimately
profitability.
One very important benefit of attitude in the workplace is career success. The standard way to
measure the success of employees in the work place is through evaluation of the performance of
every individual towards the achievement of organizational performance targets. It is naturally
for an employee with the right attitude to ever think of the best and easiest possible way of
accomplishing assigned tasks. Such an employee will not be heard to always complain or find
excuses to justify poor performance. Constant achievement of performance targets on the other
hand translates into work success and the employee will ultimately either be promoted to more
responsibilities or compensated commensurate to the level of performance (Keamer, 2013).
A good attitude in the workplace is very instrumental in enhancing productivity. People who
have a positive attitude have the tendency of taking more interest in everything they do and also
how they deliver it. Employees who have the right attitude about work will therefore naturally
think about their work and strive to give it their best. As a result they end up producing good
quality work with limited flaws. The overall outcome is an improved output and productivity
among the employees. However, for the workforce to have a good attitude the organization
through the management team must deliberately provide good working conditions, recognize
effort and show employees that they are valuable assets of the organization. The HR department
has said function and responsibility to ensuring that the organizational workforce has the right
qualities. One beneficial quality that the HRD must promote among employees is a positive
attitude (Balzer, 2010).
Teamwork also benefits greatly from a good workplace attitude among employees. Whereas
attitude is typically an individual quality, fostering a collective workplace positive attitude by the
management is very important. The concept of team spirit has become common in the modern
workplaces (Pirouz, 2015). Every organization is depending on teams to accomplish tasks faster.
Good teamwork is a product of positive relationships among employees. Positive relationships
help employees build efficient teams in which all participants are committed and working the
common cause. Cultivating a positive workplace attitude can help individual workers appreciate
the contribution, skills and competencies of their colleagues. This way, people are encouraged to
focus on the attainment of team performance targets through positive synergy instead of focusing
their energy on the inadequacies of others. The organization through relevant trainings of the
workforce and supervisory teams can help cultivate a culture of positive attitudes among its
people with the resultant effective teamwork (Byers, 2009).
Another beneficial outcome of a positive attitude in the workplace is increased motivation.
Possession of the right attitude helps workers easily overcome any obstacles they encounter in
the course of executing their duties. Good attitude also affects the manner in which workers
perceive the world around them. Ease of overcoming challenges in the workplaces motivates
employees to move forward in their job. Employees are also able to take better decisions in their
work as a result of possessing the right attitude towards their work. A good attitude enhances
healthy thinking thus enabling workers to make wise and logical choices. This is because at all
times in their work the employees who have the right attitude are guided by objectivity (Fritz,
2008). They will look for the solution to the issue instead of complaining and whining about
challenges encountered.
A very important aspect of good attitude is that it enhances fruitful interpersonal relationships
among the employees. They enjoy and share good rapport with not just their colleagues and
supervisors but also the customers they serve. Customers would prefer to be served by positively
motivated individuals and therefore where employees are able to strike a good rapport with the
customers the level of customer loyalty goes up. Additionally good workplace attitude
tremendously contributes to stress management among employees. Stress can detrimentally
affect employee’s health wise. Positive thoughts help drastically reduce stress levels and with
less stress, workers can have a stable state of health which translates into fewer sick offs sought.
Attitude is therefore not just an issue of employees but also the management teams and the entire
organizations. By providing good work environment and appreciating employees, organizations
cultivate the culture of positive attitude among employee teams. This results in less stress levels,
greater levels of motivation, good service to the customers and good job performance (Clarke,
2015).
Conclusion
In conclusion therefore, attitude is a very important factor in the workplaces. It is not only
beneficial to the organization but also the individual employees. Organizations that cultivate
good workplaces attitudes among their employees improve the efficiency of communications,
achieved better teamwork and collaboration in the course of work. As a result their employees
have a tremendously boosted morale, have lesser levels of stress and are highly productive. As a
result of the good attitude, the level of fatigue and stress among employees is reduced as they are
motivated and innovative in discharging their duties. Reduced stress translates into reduced
absenteeism. Higher productivity means the organization is able to achieve performance goals
and therefore is profitable. Organizations must therefore strive to cultivate good workplace
attitudes among employees as to motivate. Highly motivated employee teams perform well,
serve well and therefore enable the organization to compete on the frontiers of quality products
and services to their customers.
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