“One Bad Apple can Spoil the Whole Bunch… and can rot an agency to the core!”
If leaders allow bad behaviors to continue, the above quote can happen to any agency. When leaders look the other way, or don’t want to deal with issues, that ONE bad apple can rot an agency to the core. It’s just like sweeping it under the rug!
A single negative employee can significantly impact a workplace, spreading negativity, reducing productivity, and potentially leading to employee turnover and a decline in overall morale.
If you were to take a poll inside your agency, what do you think most employees would say when you ask this question?
What percentage of your day is spent listening to toxic employees?
You may be surprised that it’s not 20, 30, or even 50%… most employees tell us in class, that up to 60% or more, (which means most of the day) is wasted and nonproductive.
Bad apple toxic employees need fuel to spread their ‘fire of anger’, thereupon-influencing other employees to be angry and mad with them. It can be a wildfire inside the department if unchecked. It will sabotage the success of the agency and spread into the community.
My ‘Aha’ as a Motor Cop
“The day I realized the officers I went to lunch with kept complaining about the agency, was the day I started eating lunch without them. They were going nowhere on an endless hamster wheel of toxic negativity, and they tried taking me down with them. I made an immediate PIVOT in the other direction. This one simple move empowered me to work on myself, and become personally productive.” Linda Webb, RITE Academy
Toxic people only think about themselves. They don’t care about the harm they cause others, or the agency. Their entitled attitude believes, “It’s all about me!”
May be time to fumigate!
We allow toxic people to pollute our surrounding. It may be time to release the people that no longer serve you. No matter how hard it may be, don’t hesitate, fumigate!
“Toxic people will pollute everything around them. Don’t hesitate. Fumigate.” –Mandy Hale
5 Steps to Fumigate from Toxic Employees
1. Professional Workplace Culture: Institute a stringent ‘professional workplace culture SOP.’ Indicating ‘zero tolerance’ for unprofessional toxic workplace behavior, which includes, spreading rumors, and influencing others with negative banter.
2. Emotional Intelligence Training: Introduce positive workplace culture training that incorporates Emotional Intelligence (EI) for every employee. RITE Training encourages every employee to work on themselves first, like when traveling on an airplane you put your oxygen mask on first. Once the training is completed take a hard stance on ‘zero tolerance’ that unprofessional workplace culture is unacceptable in the agency.
3. Employee EI Tools: Encourage employees to work on themselves by providing EI tools for every employee, as well as department banners for employees daily check in with their emotions. When the agency gives each employee EI Tools… you are telling the employee you care.
4. PIVOT from Toxic Behavior: Teach employees how to PIVOT, which means to disengage from disruptive toxic behavior in a professional manner.
5. Support Groups: Provide peer support and other emotionally supportive groups to help employees who need assistance if they are struggling with negative emotions.
Empower Employees with EI Daily Check-In:
When you teach employees first to be aware of their own emotions, it is easy to spot someone who may be living in anger, frustration, blame and hate.
Emotional Intelligence Training as part of your professional workplace culture helps employees to do this daily check in with themselves to ask, What am I feeling?
Empowering your employees to check in daily to improve their emotions before listening to others who may influence them.
4 Positive Moves Using Emotional Intelligence
1. Emotional Awareness – Do a daily check-in and ask yourself what are you feeling?
2. Care enough to make change: You must care enough about it to change the emotion and behavior.
3. Stop and Think: Start by recognizing you are listening to toxic behavior, and then PIVOT away from it. Figure out what are some positive changes you can make for yourself. Put a plan in place.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice – It takes 21 days to change a habit.
“The less you respond to negative people, the more powerful your life will become.” Robert Baine, Jr.
Make an Agency-wide Pledge:
When department leaders make a pledge to their employees to provide apositive professional workplace culture, then they are sending the message that they care about all of their employees.
Employees are an agencies greatest asset!
Fumigating negative toxic behavior out of the agencies and replacing it with positive Emotional Intelligence sets the agency up for success, incorporating a positive workplace culture where everyone inside the agency can be productive and happy.
About RITE
RITE Training helps ALL public servants improve internal communication that improves officer mental health and wellness. When you learn to control your emotions, you learn to control every situation, and help others that are in need. Contact us on how to bring RITE to your agency.
