The Chronic Complainer -February 2014

The Chronic Complainer I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I am done with this weather. Between the hassle of driving, the pain of shoveling and the lack of sunshine I can’t wait for Spring. Most of you have heard of Seasonal Affected Disorder, or SAD, but in my house the acronym stands for Stay Away Dude! Neither my wife nor I seem to have much patience lately, and we are both longing to be outside in conditions other than sub-zero wind chills. After being one of the thousands of households without power for a few days, even the slightest mention of continued winter weather gets on my nerves. No wonder that the weather has such a profound effect on people’s demeanor, and I’ve seen it find its way into the workplace as well. Several of my clients have seen a downturn in their team’s productivity due to increased absenteeism, lack of motivation and the tendency for employees to spend an increasing amount of time complaining to each other or stressing about the next storm that the weather people feel compelled to sensationalize. One even joked that he was considering a plant shutdown until April and the onset of Spring. Perhaps he felt that way because Marjorie, one of his managers, is the classic chronic complainer. She is such a negative influence that most of her fellow managers go out of their way to avoid her. Marjorie’s complaints range from physical ailments to office conditions to trouble with her children. The company president is a sensitive guy and wants all of his employees to be healthy and happy. He spent time trying to be sympathetic to Marjorie, offering a listening ear, some fatherly advice and even a personal loan when she complained of financial problems. He soon discovered that this approach had no effect other than to make him the primary recipient of Marjorie’s complaints. As a result she was at his door every morning with a new source of problems, and he found himself hiding from her as the other managers had done. Tired of hiding at his own company, he asked me to intervene. In speaking with Marjorie she professed a great affection for the company and relished coming to work to escape the many problems she had at home. She viewed the president and her co-workers as her extended family and had no clue she was offending people with her complaining. She simply thought she was sharing her feelings with friends, and when she was told that her constant complaining was alienating her co-workers she was thoroughly embarrassed and offered to resign. After speaking with the president she elected to stay, and so far Marjorie seems to be keeping her tendency to complain under control. So I guess I’ll “practice what I preach” and try to exhibit my normally optimistic outlook during this Siberian Winter. At least my friend who does snow plowing is finally making some money this year after a few mild winters. Spring will soon be here, and then I can complain about landscape maintenance, outside painting and the lack of time to just relax. I feel better already! Stay warm.