ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE

It’s long been known that exposure to bad news can be genuinely unsettling. As long ago as 1997, a study originally published in the British Journal of Psychology found that just 14 minutes of exposure to negative news can significantly increase anxiety and sad moods.

Nearly three decades after that study, its conclusion leads to greater concern than ever. The future is wildly uncertain. The media is full of alarming stories, from the growing number of natural disasters to a political climate in which candidates threaten that if their opponent wins, it will mean that the nation will head straight into the pits of hell.

With all this in mind, we’ve had a couple of interesting conversations with people who are encouraging public servants (and for that matter the rest of us) to make an effort, more now than ever, to look on the positive side of things, and acknowledge that with careful thought and planning good things can get done.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a conversation with Rita Reynolds, formerly CIO of the National Association of Counties and she had this to say: “Is the glass half full? Is it half empty? I prefer to look at a problem in terms of ‘Okay, that didn't work. What else can we do that will meet the need or meet the deliverables on the time frame we established?’ And if it can't, then let's be honest and upfront about what we're going to do to get us close. That's a positive attitude, that's finding solutions. That's the type of skills that are needed in today's world.”

More recently, we chatted with Erica Broome, revenue planning manager for Rock Hill, South Carolina who is also an advocate of positivity in the workplace. As she told us, “Negative people like company, and if my team starts to drift negative then performance drops and collaboration collapses. I don’t want to spend my whole week managing people’s moods instead of what I’m here to do which is to manage the city’s finances.”

There’s been a great deal of talk for the last several years about burnout among public sector employees. Assuming that work overload that leads to burnout isn’t going away, one source of relief from burnout is keeping an upbeat attitude.

Consider these two options, when a public servant is faced with a difficult problem. They can have an internal conversation in which they tell themselves one of two things or something in between.

• The negative person thinks: “I’m confronting a task that is going to make me want to cry.

  
  

• The positive person thinks: “Well this is really difficult, but I can find a way to manage it.”

Which one do you think will make a staffer stay productive and avoid burnout?

Fortunately for people at the local level the results of their work can be felt by the residents they serve. The local press may be tilted toward the negative at the federal level, but at least there’s a chance that it will give credit to the completion of a new bridge, a youth opportunity initiative, or a community garden.

Since public employees aren’t usually attracted to their jobs because of high pay, a sense of accomplishment – and the positive feelings that inspires -- can be a major motivator toward working still harder. 

In the little Connecticut town in which we live, the community got credit for quickly clearing the snow and providing guidance for residents who may have lost their power and heat -- lists of warming centers, for example. Kind words from  neighbors and constituents are key to maintaining a positive outlook.

Norman Vincent Peal had powerful advice for keeping up that kind of proactive attitude in his famous 1952 book, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Most of the people reading this weren’t born when that best-seller came out, but his guidance continues to be worthwhile, we think. A few quotes:

• “Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities.

  
  

• “If you have zest and enthusiasm, you attract zest and enthusiasm.”

  
  

• Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things  seem to be, or actually are, raise your sight and see possibilities”

  
  

• “Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.”

  
  

• “Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution.”

  
  

Not only can a brighter outlook help public employees stay the course in choppy seas, it can also be beneficial for people who are applying for public sector jobs. Interviewers aren’t inclined to be attracted to people who have a sour attitude toward the world. Rather, they’re looking for employees who take pleasure in solving problems, rather than dwelling on them.

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein offered good advice to this point, in their musical the King and I, when they wrote, “Whenever I feel afraid. I hold my head erect. And whistle a happy tune. So no one will suspect, I'm afraid.”

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