MOI magazine urges employees to weed out bad apples at workplace

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business

As the UAE rolls out its happiness movement with the newly-established Ministry of State for Happiness, focus is being shifted towards eradicating negativity, and everyone in the community has a role to play in making this happen, a report in the latest issue of the 999 Magazine says.
The 999 Magazine, the official monthly publication of the Ministry of Interior (MOI), tackles in its cover story how negative personalities thrive in the workplace and how people should deal with them.
According to the 999 story, negative people, such as the grumps, the bossy, the lazy and the gossipers, hurt a team’s overall productivity and adversely influence work performance, decision-making, and creativity, amongst others. Worse, those most impacted by this negativity may find stress creeping into their family life, as they carry the emotional contagion home.
Lt. Col. Awadh Saleh Al Kindi, Editor-in-Chief of 999, said: “It’s high time that people and companies realise that negativity would cripple any organisation. The UAE has strict laws and stiff penalties against spreading rumours and creating panic in the community, and companies should apply the same pattern in the workplace. Office gossips, for an instance, should never be tolerated because aside from causing distress to a person being talked about, it lowers the morale of the whole organisation to a great extent.”
Al Kindi added: “While it is necessary to weed out the bad apples, it is more important to get to the bottom of the issue and understand how some people develop such unpleasant traits. The report says the family is at the core of behavioural developments. A person usually doesn’t suddenly become a negative person as an adult; it starts quite early in life either from a natural disposition or from family circumstances.
“Children who are brought up in socioeconomically and financially balanced and stable families, will be themselves balanced, and will positively affect their surroundings when they grow up,” said Dr Moza Ghobash, professor of sociology and Chairperson of the Rewaq Ousha bint Hussain Cultural Society.
Whatever a person’s dominant character trait, it may become exaggerated under pressure, Human Development Adviser Abdullah Said bin Shamma explained in the cover story.
“For example, if he’s originally an introvert, he’ll be more passive and reclusive. If he’s highly self-confident, he’ll tend to be express himself in a louder voice and in a more aggressive way,” Shamma also said. The 999 story digs deeper into the issue, highlighting other studies and expert insights. It also provides comprehensive guides on how to outgrow negative traits and handle people of different personalities. The English-language 999 magazine is a component of the Ministry of Interior’s strategic plan to provide media coverage for the activities
and efforts of the Ministry and the
Abu Dhabi Police.