The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work

Chapter 8. The Cost of Negativity

"But you need to know it's not going to be easy," she said, holding up a piece of paper.

"Nothing worthwhile ever is," Dan responded.

"I did some research last night, and here's some real data on the cost of negativity. This is not just our problem. I'd call it the biggest problem in business, and it not only affects us as an organization but it affects us individually." She handed him a piece of paper that read as follows:

Cost of Negativity

• Negativity costs the U.S. economy between $250 to $300 billion every year in lost productivity, according to the Gallup Organization. And this number is conservative since it doesn't take into account the ripple effect of complaining and negativity.

• Ninety percent of doctor visits are stress related, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the #1 cause of office stress is coworkers and their complaining, according to Truejobs.com.

• A study found that negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with—for good (How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath).

• Too many negative interactions compared to positive interactions at work can decrease the productivity of a team, according to Barbara Fredrickson's research at the University of Michigan.

• Negativity affects the morale, performance, and productivity of our teams.

• One negative person can create a miserable office environment for everyone ...