A pessimist is rarely in a good mood, always prepared for the worst and is a passionate skeptic. The pessimist is a rather grumpy peer. The problem with this type of colleague is his negative attitude, which is quickly transferred to the rest of the employees. It is, therefore, extremely important to know how to deal with a pessimist.
Characteristics of the pessimist
When a person is pessimistic, he sees in everything only the bad. Pessimists almost always see the situations in a negative light without exceptions.
- When the boss asks for a 1:1, it can only mean a termination can mean
- A new employee is introduced; Oh God! Now, everything is going to slide into chaos
- Team-based project work can only end in a disaster!
Pessimists have a hard time imagining that a challenge or everyday situation can be a positive one. They focus on and prepare for all worst-case scenarios. In reality, however, the opposite is often the case: the pessimists are not helpful enrichment for the team; they brake an otherwise smooth flow. When he is busy painting everything in black, he forgets to focus on the essentials – the work . Their resistance and skepticism are products of years of grime.
Even though the pessimist has annoying qualities and at times, drives into complete madness, he somehow always manages to get people to his side. His dark moods and negative visions, unfortunately, infect the team relatively quickly:
- The mood in the office is getting worse and worse
- His followers add fuel to the fire and the pessimist gains further influence
Pessimist at a glance
- Basically negative
- Always prepared for the worst case scenario
- Connects with its negative setting (ensures bad mood)
- Positive events cannot be convince them
- Prevents creative ideas
- Difficult to make decisions
How to deal with pessimists
Pessimism is deeply rooted in the person’s personality. If a change is about to happen, the pessimist wants nothing of it. Do not allow his negative attitude to infect the whole team.
The best way to achieve this is by consciously showing your achievements, reflecting and processing setbacks together and ensuring a good mood in the workplace. Ignorance is also not a solution when dealing with pessimists. Their generally distrustful attitude, on the other hand, sometimes provokes problems that remain hidden to the optimists.
It is, therefore, advisable to listen to the objections of the pessimist, and not to categorically dismiss everything as bleak and hopeless. The challenge is to distinguish serious objections from pure pessimism.
