The Case for Negatrons

neg·a·tron. /?neg?tr?n/. noun

1 : Derived from the word combination of 'negative' and 'Megatron', the main antagonist of the Transformers film series.

2 : A person who by nature is imbued by negativity and pessimism. // "Watch out, the negatron's coming. Don't let him ruin the vibe!"

3 : Lacking optimistic qualities and unable to maintain a positive outlook in any life aspect. // "It seems that all hope is lost for that negatron. There's literally nothing anyone can do to turn things around in his eyes."

You wake up, feeling uh-may-zing, preparing to jumpstart your day like Spongebob with his "I'm ready!" chant. You get your coffee, go to the office, and there he comes over to you ranting about how sh*tty everything has been. All you could ever think about are 1.) how helpless you are with the whole enchilada and 2.) man, does it suck the life out of your supposedly wonderful morning.

So, negatrons. Either you are one, you've been one, or you know one. They're everywhere, prevalent in today's society especially with the widespread availability of information across various platforms. In the setting of a workplace, are they indeed non-essentials as to what most organizations perceive them to be? What's the deal with them, anyway?

What Causes Negativity

Practicing project management has had me meet and work with a more-than-usual number of people throughout my career. Come to think of it, there's no better avenue than a relaxed office night-out with colleagues to talk about matters of the personal and professional life. I used to go to these two eateries with the gang - a Chinese hotpot and a chicken inasal (Filipino-style BBQ) specialty. We would go all night eating, drinking, and basically having a good time outside our lines of duties. All the booze would inevitably make our hearts go up our sleeves and as much as we try to avoid it, much criticism of the world (and the workplace) couldn't be helped.

If I had one realization from all these encounters, it is that a person can only take so much until he/she breaks. Here's the advance disclaimer - negativity is inevitable. Human emotions are a part of who we are and as portrayed in the Disney movie "Inside Out", happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear all play a role in our health. The way humans respond to such sensations can be attributed to our coping method of self-expression. Even though we may deny it, there's a negatron inside each one of us. I am not here to explore nor illustrate techniques on how to avoid and shut down negativity. Rather, the focus will be on our answer to it by understanding the factors surrounding its emergence and exit - starting by inspecting the root cause.

For the most part, negativity begins with a state of disappointment, which happens when a certain expectation is not met. No matter how much expectations are to be lowered, the fact that it still exists in the tiniest bit possible only means there is room for discontent. It is safe to say then, in this regard, that what is equally critical to examine are the triggers of disappointment. Who most likely had the biggest influenced to its conception? Is it by someone we know or possibly our own selves? Can we alter something about the circumstance or is it out of our control? We ask these relevant questions as they shall come into play in the next section.

There are certain cases, however, wherein negativity is present in ways we couldn't fathom. Or somehow, it may have reached a point too complex to elicit. It can be a series of small recurring events leading up to the state or a huge trauma creating permanent mental stress. Regardless of the cause, I'd like to note that this is something we should not leave out of the equation. Depression is real. In some cases, it may even be present when we think it's not. There will be varying severity levels and responses by individuals whether harmful or innocent. Bottomline is that depression is a mental illness and, like all other medical conditions, best treated professionally alongside medical help.

Dealing with Negativity

An ex-colleague of mine never favored his higher ups' management styles and how the business had been performing. Moreover for this person, the working ways from his side of the table weren't the most optimal by his standards. To some degree I would have the same outlook. We would go on and on - him discovering all the faults while laying down his qualms, and me trying to reveal the silver lining to prevent him from walking away. He never really did anything nor complained publicly about it; besides, it did not deteriorate his work quality at all. Months later, top management began to notice his resiliency and allowed him to thrive and showcase the best of his abilities. He ended up in a better spot.

Another case is a colleague who gradually suffered from burnout through overwork. And by overwork, I mean overwork. This person had to take on roles much bigger than his original job description due to staffing concerns. Management did little to nothing about it. Don't get me wrong, he likes to perform - and he did. Like the previous one, the quality stayed top-notch. However, the burnout took a toll on the life outside his career where we noticed a significant change in behavior. Most organizations would think that the best way to deal with this situation is to compensate better and up the benefits. While that stands true for most cases, it didn't seem to be for him. It turned out that all he desired for was a balanced, well maintained life. That is because even after obtaining a better package in his transfer, the sentiments never went away and the situation remained the same.

So in these two separate instances, negativity may come in the same shape but it doesn't necessarily mean that both warrant the same response. There's no single way to deal with negativity. More so as we have concluded that it is a natural human emotion, perhaps there will be times where it's simply better to leave it as it is. Firstly, the striking indicator as to whether one has to make changes is whether it impacts our different life aspects including the relationships we built in them. If no harm is present, I'd reckon that the negativity merely serves as an outlet for the emotions.

Finding the source

Let's say we do know that there really is something wrong. By any chance we might have figured it out ourselves, or a friend knocked some sense into us saying: "Hey, that's bad for your health now." The most logical starting action is to probe the potential causes. Being serious about addressing a problem and changing our behavior requires us to tackle it from the root - the same goes to managers and/or mentors who care for their proteges.

Turning self disappointment to an opportunity

The self is a popular culprit for negativity by virtue of disappointment. It can come in many forms and often subdued by a wide variety of techniques. I'd like to point out first that this is probably the most promising case for any individual or mentor to address yet can be the riskiest. Since it stems from the fact that we expect more highly of ourselves, the intent to perform better is already present. It is critical that we hang on to this desire longer than being succumbed by the feeling. Otherwise, the next time we decide to take another leap could be over a deep manhole that's hard to come back from. How do we guide ourselves to walk when we're already facing the right direction? This is where I believe peers and mentors come into the picture.

With the proper support system and an adequate understanding of our capabilities through them, we are less likely to dwell on our failures and past performance. It now becomes more compelling to bounce back and not let down our folks as much as we innately do not want to dishearten ourselves. Managers and those who have some form of influence in someone's career alike must be keen on detecting cases like this. Engage in conversations, make an effort to understand your colleagues' sentiments. It could either make or permanently break them. A friend of mine believed he was not being utilized in the way that fits his talent and skills. It took a little bit too long for the guys to notice even though he often voiced out this concern. At some point, it might have become too late to take any action. When changes were finally made to his benefit, he breathed new life into his work and thrived.

Choosing how to be upset with others' actions

How about in the case of being disappointed by others? The saying goes that anyone will never satisfy nor please everyone in any circumstance - and I absolutely agree with that. Think of it this way though: if indeed there is someone who made you feel dismayed and it bleeds you dry, would you really want to continue belonging to that side of his life that to uphold the statement above? Or are you willing enough to be your peer's saving grace in his journey towards redeeming himself? The key difference lies in how you choose to be upset. It's one thing to feel disappointed but it's also another to be someone else's guiding light. Sadly, I've encountered numerous co-workers I felt the need to avoid because I wasn't in on it. There was one, however, whom I called to confront and offer a helping hand despite knowing my limitations. Man, did it feel relieving as drinking iced coffee on a sunny morning.

I'm a huge advocate of humaneness (see previous article on What it means to be "humane" in the workplace). At the end of the day, what's important is we put ourselves into others' shoes and find where we could add value instead of reducing it. Negativity and humaneness can co-exist without the need of compromise.

Seeking professional help

Have you ever had the feeling of not wanting to wake up and cease existing in the world? A friend posed me this question who after being able overcome depression explained the existence of the high-functioning kind. High-functioning depression is one that is extremely hard to detect for the sole reason that the suffering is overshadowed by the need to succeed. They continue to go about their days normally just like any other individual. It never really occurred to her to see a shrink until her friend recommended her to. Little did she know that she was bound to be diagnosed with a mental illness, in which she strived to heal from and was successful in doing so years later.

Let's think of it this way, we do medical check-ups to ensure physical health condition is in tiptop shape - even when there's nothing wrong. But how about our mental health? Majority would think that meeting with a psychiatrist is already problematic in itself - it's not, it is just as much as undergoing an annual routine physical exam to assess our current state.

Licensed psychologist and author Guy Winch, Ph.D., presents an interesting Ted talk here in which he illustrates how humans undervalue the importance of emotional hygiene. He puts this in contrast with the practice of first aid, wherein immediate medical assistance is sought for at the first sign of physical injury but rarely with emotional pain.

How Negativity Affects Other People

OK, negativity is not always so bad as long as we do the rightful actions to drive us forward. It still begs the question: "How are your peers taking it?" Here's the hint, "one bad apple can spoil the barrel." Surrendering to our emotions can be quite a relief. It even tremendously helps when there are people to share them with. We must consider, however, that as relatable human beings, it bring forth the possibility of inducing negativity unto others. That wouldn't always end up well for all we know.

One of my Chinese teachers repeatedly said to us back then, "EQ 比 IQ 更好!" (EQ is better than IQ!) I could never agree with her more until this very day, let alone when speaking in the topic of negativity. So, the next time our negatrons decide to pay us a visit, let's be sensitive enough to understand others' reception of it. Furthermore, the act of sharing should mean we somehow allow our companion to lift our spirits up (or hear us out) as opposed to dragging them down to our misery.

Conclusion

Negativity is a feeling. Our emotions, sensations, and sentiments (whatever we wish to call it) can never be stopped once triggered. We can't just tell a person who is fuming with rage to quit being angry - it wouldn't make any sense. The more we suppress it, the more counterproductive it will be to our health in the long run. My closing thought is simple: negativity can either be beneficial or detrimental, but should never be dismissed. If it aids in learning from past mistakes, if it is the type that breeds sustainable growth, if it makes you a better person overall, then by all means, channel that negativity to your advantage.

As such, negatrons should not be deemed non-essentials all the time. Although they may invariably cause toxic company cultures which can be addressed separately, there are those whom actually care the most for the organization. A negatron's mind may be full of pessimism, but I can almost always assure that there is value in their beliefs and opinions. It is then up to us to extract those hidden gems.

Stay true to your feelings. Do not flee from your emotions. When life gives you lemons.. All. Hail. Negatron.

Special thanks to

Often I am asked by my friends and colleagues for whom are these articles being written or what is the source of inspiration - I don't have a specific answer. What it could be though is the collection of what has been happening since the start of 2020 (which we can all agree is not the best way to welcome the decade). Now is arguably the most convenient time to feel negative given the circumstances around us. And that's fine.

The COVID-19 crisis hit my current organization hard just as it did others. Never in a million years did I imagine living in this time of uncertainty. In the last few months, sacrifices had to be made and emotions have been shooting through the roof. What seemed to be a year of redemption became a year of survival.

One of the memorable quotes from the MCU Thor series goes: "Asgard is not just a place, never was. Asgard is where our people stand." To you who is a Kasalo and reading this, please stay strong in your plight surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. We may not be seeing each other as often as before, but my heart is with you and your families always. Slowly but surely, we shall come through in the clutch.