Alright, so you’re at work facing an important deadline but there are just way too many distractions: an unending chain of ‘urgent’ emails, someone’s lunch stinking up the place, your colleague talking loudly on a call next door… you get the picture? You’re unable to make your deadline and your boss calls you into his/her office for “a talk” – sound familiar?
Negative experiences such as these are part of everyday life yet with the push towards a positive workplace, we often forget this simple truth. How one deals with such experiences is crucial for success on the job and people differ in the way they respond to them.
Some individuals opt for stoicism or suppression when faced with such stressors, perhaps due to negativity being shunned in the workplace, but research on individuals opting for this strategy has shown that it can lead to both negative psychological and physiological outcomes (Gross, 1998).
On the other hand, while seemingly counter-intuitive at first glance, accepting negative experiences as naturally occurring can be beneficial (Ostafin, Brooks, & Laitem, 2014). Evidence from a recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that habitually accepting negative mental experiences can significantly improve mental health.” The authors found that being mindful of the way one feels and regularly adopting an acceptance approach – a sort of “this too shall pass” mindset – can help mitigate the negative effects of day-to-day stress through the experience of lower negative emotions, thus allowing the stressors to pass relatively quickly (Ford, Lam, John, & Mauss, 2017).
But what does this mean and how can one practice acceptance? (Rodriguez, 2013).
- Instead of rushing to change how you feel, learn to tolerate negative feelings. Many people report that taking slow and deep breaths (clichéd as it sounds) helps them get past stressful events!
- Write in a journal or talk to someone as it could help you get closure.
- Try some mindfulness exercises like mindful breathing, listening, observing, etc.; the internet is filled with them!
Escaping negative experiences is almost impossible but learning how to deal with them effectively can prevent you from becoming the Negative Nancy of your workplace. Getting in touch with yourself, being mindful of your emotions, and regulating them accordingly can result in better psychological health, better quality relationships, and be the key to your success at work!
References:
Ford, B. Q., Lam, P., John, O. P., & Mauss, I. B. (2017). The Psychological Health Benefits of Accepting Negative Emotions and Thoughts: Laboratory, Diary, and Longitudinal Evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000157.
Gross, J. J. (1998). Antecedent-and response-focused emotion regulation: divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 224.
Ostafin, B. D., Brooks, J. J., & Laitem, M. (2014). Affective reactivity mediates an inverse relation between mindfulness and anxiety. Mindfulness, 5(5), 520-528. doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0206-x.
Rodriguez, T. (2013, May 1). Negative emotions are key to well-being. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/negative-emotions-key-well-being/.