My colleague is constantly negative. How can I make them cheer up?

July 17, 2026 — 5:01am

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I am faced with a dilemma at work. I am conscious of the dangers of toxic positivity and demanding that fellow employees come to work “with the right attitude”. I faced it myself in an old job, and I found it demeaning.

That being said, I am currently having problems with a colleague I work with closely [we’ll call them Lou] who appears to be constantly grumpy. I have talked to Lou, and know they are not satisfied with parts of their life, including parts of their work life. I take what they have told me seriously. However, because they are literally always negative and pessimistic, I am starting to find coming into work draining. Is there anything I can do without falling into the toxic positivity trap?

I share your misgivings about policing co-workers’ emotions. For the most part, it’s a futile and counterproductive tactic. When you ask a person to always come to work cheerful or positive, unless they’re naturally ebullient (and who is every single day of the week?), they’ll either grow resentful or start pretending.

And if it’s not just a single manager or office busybody doing it – if it’s a........

© The Sydney Morning Herald