It's All Good

Cultivating a positive attitude in the face of a tumultuous workplace may be half the battle for jobseekers and employees alike.

By Kate Bongiovanni
CTW Features

Between the gyrations of the economy and the rapid downshifting of many businesses, it's not easy to stay calm and collected in today's workplace. If you're looking for a job, you probably wonder, What does this mean for my chances? If you have a job you might ask, Will I be next?

It may be time for jobseekers and employees alike to dust off a trusty aphorism: Attitude is everything. Taking and maintaining a positive attitude no matter what the day brings is a smart move when faced with chaos. Thinking positive is a trait that will strengthen your standing with workplace peers and superiors and can help you project confidence to a prospective employer.

People with a positive mindset tend to be more dependable writes Roger Fritz in his book "The Power of a Positive Attitude," (AMACOM, 2008). "When you are positive you will find that you instinctively respect others and are therefore more considerate," he says. Fritz, president of Organization Development Consultants, Naperville, Ill., believes the process of maintaining a positive attitude generates other positive behaviors, such as planning ahead, encouraging others, showing appreciation, thoroughness, conscientiousness and alertness.

"A positive attitude also ignites the drive to excel in yourself and those around you," Fritz says. It becomes easier to believe in yourself and work through uncertainty knowing that over time, a calculated risk can work in your favor and lead to success.

People with positive attitudes tend to focus on solving problems and achieving end results rather than on looking good while going through the motions, Fritz says. A positive attitude goes beyond feeling good; it encompasses preparedness, self-confidence, initiative and self-respect.

"Objectivity should prevail over subjectivity" when sizing up the challenges at hand and ahead, Fritz says. To maintain a positive attitude it is necessary to "correct mistakes before they become mistakes," he says, and to prepare and condition yourself to take criticism without considering it a personal attack.

Cathy Harris, workplace consultant and head of C. Harris Companies in New Orleans, agrees with the importance of bringing objectivity to bear when grappling with workplace uncertainty. "Question what you're thinking and how you're thinking it," she says. Cool analysis can help you discard negative thoughts or predispositions and help you take responsibility for your performance.

Harris and other workplace gurus often advocate seeking out new ways to do things as a means of generating a fresh, positive outlook. For example, remove yourself from your normal workspace in order to stir your creativity. Look outside the box at activities, objects and environments that elevate your mood, says Tevis Gale, a career coach and founder of Balance Integration Corp., a New York company that provides yoga, meditation and fitness training to corporate clients. Exercise, music, food, time alone, guilty pleasures, weekend re-chargers or kindness can all contribute to a more positive attitude. "Keep noticing good moments and the factors that make them happen," Gale says. "By identifying your own best practices, you'll be able to more authentically say it's all good."

When Patrick Griffith, a technical writer and editor from Chicago, was job searching last summer, he found it important to balance the job hunt with another activity: triathlon training. "The different training opportunities with triathlon offered a nice counter-point to the stress of mailing out résumés, phone interviews, making sure my suit still fit and walk-in interviews," he says. "It is nice to get out and put yourself through some physical stress to clear the head." Griffith admits he still found it tough to stay positive but training helped combat the tensions and introspection of a job search.

Stepping outside your normal routine may be the most immediate and powerful means to tap your creativity and find ways to improve your attitude, outlook and whatever work is at hand.

"Get yourself out of that workplace and find something that you want to do," says Harris, who admits to escaping her desk periodically to work in her sunroom. "People are happier doing things that they enjoy."

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How Positive Are You?

Author Roger Fritz offers this quiz to help determine your Positive Attitude Quotient. Assign a value to these 10 statements based on how frequently you exhibit that particular behavior:

Never: 1

Seldom: 2

Sometimes: 3

Usually: 4

Always: 5

Be honest with yourself. When you have finished taking the test, add up the numbers you assigned to each item. Use the scale to help you decide which areas to work on to increase your positive attitude and influence.

• I can quickly recover from failure.

• I have personal goals I am working on.

• I keep track of my progress on goals and make the changes needed.

• I make up my mind slowly whether or not I will like new people I meet.

• I get a lot of good ideas from other people.

• I can find what I need to know without much help.

• I don't have to be reminded to do what I agree to do.

• I can quickly detect people who are pessimists.

• I enjoy listening to people's explanations, even if I don't like them personally.

• I am patient with people who disagree with me.

40 + : you have a strong positive attitude. This will provide credibility as a leader and compatibility as a coworker.

30 - 40: you have a normal positive attitude. It will serve you well and be a favorable influence on others.

20 - 30: your attitude is unpredictable and will cause confusion and uncertainty in your relationships at home and at work.

Less than 20: you have a negative attitude that will inhibit confidence in your relationships and work.

Source: "The Power of a Positive Attitude: Discovering the Key to Success," by Roger Fritz (AMACOM, 2008)

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