Not surprisingly, 54.5% of survey participants say they experience Complainers or Energy Drainers the most on Mondays because, “It ends their weekend, so they come to work cranky and fired up to complain the rest of the week.”
The challenges and challenging people you face are unbelievable. Thank you for sharing your experiences! Here are the top responses in the initial results about Complainers.
Who complains or bugs you the most during the week?
Coworkers or Team Members (67.8%)
People who Report to Me (29.2%)
Clients/Customers (25.6%)
“She reminds me of a broken vessel. No matter how you try to fill her up she continues to leak.” Survey Participant
What types of things are they complaining about?
- Too Much Work to Do (37.8%)
- Unclear Direction/Lack of Feedback from Leadership (31%)
- Incompetent Coworkers or Boss (28.2%)
“He is just blowing smoke to cover up his own inadequacies.” Survey Participant
“How do you deal with a Whiner or Complainer?
Just Let Them Vent (55.6%)
Redirect Their Focus (53.2%)
Listen and Try to Solve Their Problem (49%)
Keep the Conversation Professional (41.7%)
Several of you said you ignored them, avoided them or had no idea or solution of how to get them to stop. There are more effective ways of dealing with those Complainers, I promise. Hang in there. I’m writing this book as fast as I can!
Next month we’ll have the final results of how much time these Complainers and Energy Drainers are occupying and some surprising costs when you do not stop them.
Like my friend Jeanne, many of you use humor to redirect a Complainer’s focus and maintain your sanity. Special Bonus: You MUST experience Jeanne’s “Don’t Bungee Jump Naked” video on YouTube. Jeanne is hilarious and will help you get a laughter break no matter how toxic your workplace is. (Warning: Watch where you can laugh out loud).
Journey On!
P.S. Again, a big thank you to everyone who has participated in the research, shared personal stories and encouraged this effort. If you haven’t weighed in, the survey takes about two minutes. Feel free to send it a friend who has a good story. I’ve heard that some of you have even sent it to your Complainers to see if they recognized their behavior…now that’s funny!