Attention, complainers Venting at work makes you feel even worse

Attention, complainers Venting at work makes you feel even worseAttention, complainers Venting at work makes you feel even worseAfter a long day, its very tempting to throw up your hands and vent about how nothing at work makes any sense.Dont do it. Or if you do rant about your workday, just know that it wont help you.Anew study in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology argues that engaging inunnecessary complaints and criticismcementsthe impact of that negative vorstellung on your psyche and your ability to do work the next day.The study confirms that we arent victims of circumstance we have more control over how events shape us than we think.Evangelia Demeroutiand Russell Cropanzano, at Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder, asked 112 employed people to complete3-day work diaries. The subjects were asked to report about how muchthey complained about their work and to rate their moods.54% of the negative work events the subj ects wrote about in their diaries was related to the work itself- they couldnt finish a task, theymade an error, theircomputer crashed- but social events were also significant. Around 27% of negative events revolved around co-workers, with the subjects citing gossiping, a colleagues firing, and an argument with a co-worker orsupervisoras experiences that riled them up and bummed them out.Not only did focusing on the schwimmbad experiences bother people, it did so for a relatively long time. When something goes wrong at work, its effect on you can last at least 24 hours, the authors found, depending on how you decide to cope.The 24-hour bad moodIf a subject stewed about his work grievances,it would make their bad mood worse. It would also affect their levels of dedication and energy the next day, as seen in subjectsdiary entries.For the ones who didnt complain, the researchers said they exhibited high sportsmanship, which conjures images of opposingathletes shaking hands after a lo ss. For the researchers, they defined good sportsmanship as tolerating less-than ideal circumstances or minor workplace distractions and discomforts without complaining.Researchers found those who didnt complain would feel more engaged with their work until the following afternoon and would be in better moods until the next morning. Even if the subjects experienced bad events they rated as severe, this would show no impact on mood or on engagement if they exhibited high sportsmanship.If you must complain, watch your styleThe researchers suggested that vocalizing what went wrong immediately after it happens forces the brain to relive the moment, thereby creating a stronger association to the event and making it a bigger deal than it needs to be. Jerry chewing with his mouth open right next to your desk is not the end of the world, but when youre in a bad mood, it feels like it.Researchers also suggestedthat rehashing work dramas doesnt work because it may lead you to put your foot in your mouth and say something you shouldnt If the complaint is poorly timed or expressed with too much emotion, then it is less likely to be received constructively and addressed. Giving yourself a day or two to process a negative event mayallow you to handle it more objectively with less personal emotion.Of course,this doesnt mean that if a bad thing happens to you at work, that you shouldnt talk about it ever. Dont bottle up feelings do talk about them to your boss. Make sure theyre important enough to you to bring up, however.Venting just to ventisnt productive, either to your targets or yourself. Studying its effects, Brad Bushman, anOhio State University professor, had 600 college students readgraded papers that the students themselves had written. The graded papers were purposefully designedto rile the students up, criticizing them on their originality, style and organization. He then divided the students into groups. The group that was told to vent by picturing the partner wh o poorly graded them while hitting a punching bag feltthe most hostility and irritation. The group that did no venting felt the least.Bottom line you sometimescant control what happens to you at work, but you can control how you react to it.