Why You Need a Positive Attitude at Work

Being positive is a choice that has a tremendous impact on your success at work. Many business leaders attribute positivity to their success. It is also one of the main qualities they look for in employees.

Let’s face it, there are very few situations at work or home where being positive has caused problems!

However, when faced with difficult employers, a heavy workload, or having to deal with personal problems, staying positive can be a challenge. Therefore, in many cases, keeping an optimistic attitude needs to be a conscious decision.

It can help to stay positive if you remember the benefits a positive approach to work can bring you and others around you.

Benefits of Keeping a Positive Attitude at Work

Let’s look at some of the many benefits you can enjoy by having a positive attitude in the workplace.

Benefits to your health

You benefit your health when you aim to keep a confident and optimistic viewpoint at work. For example, doctors from the Mayo Clinic report that positive thinking can help to reduce depression, stress, and lessen your risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, positive thinking has been linked to an increased lifespan.^[1]

The reason for positive thinking gives a person health benefits because it changes the body’s response to stress. Also, positive people are less likely to turn to unhealthy ways to cope with stress like overeating, smoking, or excessive alcohol use.

Better workplace relationships

Lowering your stress levels because of positive thinking will also boost the quality of your workplace relationships. There are two ways that this happens.

First, because you are generally less-stressed about things that happen at work or in your personal life, your response to other people is much better. This prevents overreacting to situations because of anxiety about unrelated matters.

Second, people enjoy being around positive people. A study carried about by researchers at Harvard University found that people who are generally happy tend to positively influence those around them. People who associate with happy people are consequently happier themselves.^[2]

Job security

It goes without saying that if you are able to keep a positive attitude at work, your job is more secure. Very often, having a negative attitude can cause friction and even influence how you view your boss and fellow employees.

Keeps you in control

Rather than letting external factors control your emotions and viewpoint, deciding to keep positive keeps you in control. This empowers you to face every situation in the best possible way. Very often, your positive attitude will also bring about the best possible outcome.

In this respect, the 80/20 rule is very true. Many people have said that 80% of your success is due to your attitude and 20% of success is your aptitude or skill level. So, you may not always be able to control what happens around you but you can always control your response to it.

Better quality of life

Being positive at work also results in a better quality of life in general. If you high prize your positive attitude, you will feel empowered to say ‘NO’ to certain tasks that can impact on your general wellbeing.

Of course, there will always be times when there are deadlines to meet or you have to deal with rude employees. If you want to keep yourself in a ‘positive place’, you will find it easier to refuse tasks that are out with your job description.

1. Mayo Clinic. Stress management.
2. BMJ.2008 Dec 4;337:a2338.

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