You have empathetically listened to your negative employee. You have tried to see things his or her way. But still the fault-finding and bad-mouthing continues. So what do you do? Try explaining the personal impact of their negativity. Consider these three ways:

1. Explain how negative comments lessen the employee's opportunities for career advancement.

The employee who finds fault in everything and everyone is not likely to be selected for top projects. People don't want to be around negative people. That's the case even if they agree with the fault-finding comments. Explain this to your employee the next time the conversation turns to the "bad" things that are happening.

2. Explain how negative comments decrease other coworkers' willingness to work with the employee.

The employee who complains about work is also probably complaining about workers as well. So why would a talented employee want to risk being the subject of unflattering comments? Your best employees will avoid such a person. Even average coworkers will be reluctant to help. When a partnering or teaming situation occurs, tell the complainer that a constant focus on "the negative" could impact the success of the relationship.

3. Explain how negative comments cause the employee to miss deadlines because of time spent "complaining" about work rather than "doing" work.

Stopping to talk about what's wrong with people, products, or processes takes time. So the employee who is constantly complaining cannot be delivering their highest quality and quantity of work. The result is probably missed deadlines and overlooked mistakes. Examine these instances and explain the impact that negativity has on productivity, errors, or service.

Even Negative Employees Want Something

Let's fact it, you are going to encounter negative employees. For those employees, you could spend countless hours trying to figure out their point-of-view only to realize that the viewpoint will always remain negative. But even the most negative employees have things they want in the workplace. Your goal is to determine what's important to them, then link negative comments and behaviors to things they care about. Consider these three possibilities.