3 Ways Leaders Can Use Hope to Reduce Incivility

Hope

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There’s nothing as great as a friendly work environment. It promotes teamwork and boosts morale. On the other hand, a hostile environment breeds workplace toxicity. Eventually, if not controlled, it could lead to workplace incivility, including bullying. Managers have a lot of influence on the workplace environment by the tone they set, how they respond to bullying incidents, and especially their use of hope.

Repeated micro-aggressive behavior toward a team member is considered bullying. For example, a manager who repeatedly makes comments like, “I’m your manager. I’m instructing you to work as directed,” or who repeatedly withholds important task information, expecting team members to beg for the information, is indirectly attempting to silence team members in the workplace. Workplace bullying is real, but it can be subtle. It cuts across demographics, irrespective of academic status, social pedigree, economic know-how, or relational influence.

Consequentially, 30 percent of American workers experience bullying. Bullying affects the victim’s mental well-being and interferes with their hope, which can lead to other mental health-related issues, including suicide. While there are laws that protect bullied victims, effective leadership should also find humane ways to relate to team members and systematically address the issue of bullying, including finding ways to restore hope in the workplace.

Hope is essential in every facet of life. When a workplace is charged and tense, workers’ hope is threatened, and the resulting environment of despair saps energy and could lead to a lack of interest, lack of creativity, poor performance, and other ill circumstances. That’s why well-intentioned hope is necessary for a healthy workplace.

Hope is an expression that manifests itself in subtle ways, such as when preparing for work, you hope to get to the office safe and in good spirits and put in your best work, or when having a monthly one-on-one meeting with your team, you hope to make a meaningful change. The list goes on regarding how hope appears in our daily activities. On the other hand, misguided hope can dash expectations.

For leaders to ignore the importance of hope in an organization is like ignoring the importance of trust in a relationship. Hope is the oxygen that sustains purpose, meaningful life, positive energy, and the audacity to try something new. With this in mind, organizational leaders have a responsibility to set a stage that promotes hope in the workplace.

Here are three tips that can help organizational leaders create an environment that builds hope:

1. Choose hope as an option.

Speaking positivity in a challenging situation is a gesture of hope. After handling an issue of bullying at work, choosing to affirm hope to the bullied is critical. On the other hand, speaking negatively in a condition that is already depressing can cast doubt and hopelessness. Either approach involves the power of choices; therefore, choose wisely.

Choose to stop bullying each time it happens; otherwise, other members can view it as an acceptable behavior, and it will soon spread like wildfire. When bullying is not tolerated, it increases members’ hope and trust in the organization. Leaders can better identify a bullying environment when they listen and talk with their team members.

2. Encourage hope by lending a listening ear.

In an environment charged with incivility, allowing team members to ask questions or express their feelings in a safe environment is a gesture of hope. Listening has a healing power and is energy-intensive. To promote hope in the workplace, learn how to speak less and listen more with your eyes and whole body because your crew is watching your every move.

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Don’t forget, as a leader, your silence could speak louder than your words. So let your listening art and next move bring harmony and hope to that situation. In the issue of bullying and other work-related challenges, allowing team members to voice their concerns can offer hope for a positive outcome.

An Open Door

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3. Promote hope by being open to suggestions.

After listening to what team members have to say, validate their positions by acknowledging their concerns, fears, and doubts. Validation by way of nodding, controlling your body movement, and using a word like “yes” lets the person appreciate your presence and willingness to listen. Welcome any suggestions they may have. Interestingly, most people have a general idea of how to constructively solve their problems but may be unsure how it will turn out.

If you invite workers to voice their opinions, they could say something like, “We don’t feel safe in the workplace,” “Are we going to lose our jobs?” or “I need some time off.” At least their opinions could be a starting point of dialogue for troubleshooting their concerns. Hope is restored when there’s a dialogue (not monologue) between a manager and the workers they supervise. When dialogue is properly handled, workers can become agents of their own emotional and psychological healing. Allowing them to participate in their own healing empowers them to gain back their voice and self-esteem.

Therefore, reaffirming hope to a team member who experienced bullying is a powerful way of restoring the team member’s confidence. Addressing bullying as a serious violation of the company’s policy will send a message to the rest of the team members that such behavior is not tolerated. As such, choosing hope over complacency, lending a listening ear, and being open to suggestions are practical ways an effective leader can denounce bullying and promote hope in the workplace.