Good Attitude Vs. Bad Attitude

ATTITUDE (according to dictionary)

1. Manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.

2. Position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.

These are extreme examples

Good Attitudes	Bad Attitude
Positive thinking	Negative thinking
Mentally very stable	unstable
Social	More withdrawn
Don’t blame others	Always blame someone
Lower stress	A lot of stress
Enhance ability to work	Reduce ability to work
Colleagues influenced positively	Colleagues influenced negatively
Optimistic	Pessimistic
Every day is almost happy	Every day is sometimes happy
Increase our potential	Limit our potential
Calm	Yelling

Everybody has good attitudes and bad attitudes and most of us have many good attitudes and just tiny bad attitudes (I know what you guys are thinking).  Changing bad attitudes to good attitudes makes us improve the quality of our lives.

Attitude between team drivers

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (United States Department of Labour), there were almost 3.2 million truck drivers in US in 2008 and 56 percent were heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos246.htm

(Unfortunately, I cannot find the data from Statistics Canada.)

A lot of tractor-trailer drivers make a team, let’s say, two people drive one semi-trailer when they are working.  The main reason they drive together is that it is more profitable. The long haul truck keeps moving while one of the drivers is sleeping.  They usually get paid by mileage.  Once they take a trip it is going to take 7 days to 15 days.  Long haul truck drivers may drive long hours, be away from home for weeks, and drive in all kinds of weather.  Drivers drive during the day and at night and travel across North America.  Driving a long time might cause back pain.  They spend more time together than their wives, 24/7. 

Attitudes between co-drivers are the main issue when it comes to driving together.  Let’s make a scenario.  There is a major argument between co-drivers due to one of driver’s reckless attitudes.  Their home base is in Oakville, ON.  The thing is that they are in Los Angeles, CA.  What should they do?  One driver could just get off the semi-trailer and take a plane.  This response, however, would be completely inappropriate.  Whether one likes it or not, they have to drive together and come back home.  It is going to affect their driving skills and emotions.  The one who is supposed to sleep at the back cannot sleep well and it might increase the chance to get involved in an accident.  Once they are involved in an accident, it is going to affect not only both of the drivers but other innocent drivers as well.  Even if something is not correct, one of drivers had better not tell anything until they finish their trips. 

Today’s society is like this.  A bad attitude affects a company’s productivities, a relationship between co-workers and a person’s success.  Having a good attitude is one of the important factors to be a successful businessman/businesswoman.  Compromising between two co-worker’s feelings about something is very important in order to get any work accomplished.

How to deal with a co-worker who has problems with me.

   In this world, we as a human beings spend a lot of time with co-workers unless we inherit a lot of money on which we cannot spend rest of our lives or win the lottery.  The problem is that we have to share space and time with people who have problems with us.  How can we solve this problem?   There is no real answer for that.  Everybody has a different situation, personality and perspective. Here is what I suggest.  

Solutions to short term problems

Analyze the situation
In this case, we can meet three scenarios. 
The first one is that I acknowledge that something is my fault, but that can be difficult if I have trouble seeing what I did wrong.   The second scenario is that the fault totally belongs to my co-worker.  Even though he/she made a mistake, the best thing I can do is "correcting it without humiliating him/her.  Thirdly, both parties could be correct or wrong.  What I mean is that the answer could be varied from each point of view.

Try to fix everything before it is too late  
As time goes by, the situation will get worse. 

Solutions to long term conflict (They have already burned their bridges)

Ignore him/her completely and only focus on working
Get your work done, despite the conflict.

Ask my supervisor if it would be helpful to record the co-worker's bullying behaviour
I need evidence in order to make an accusation.

Discuss this problem with another colleague whom I can trust
Another colleague may give me a solution
.
Involve someone else whenever I have business with the co-worker

Don’t sink to the same level if you are treated badly
Treating the co-worker badly makes the conflict worse.

Don’t lose my temper in front of people
That would mean I am the one who has a problem.

In the real world, the relationship between human beings is not about who is right or who is wrong.  The best answer is to reconcile with coworkers, but in real life, resolution is not as straight forward as it looks in textbooks.  Even if things are not working out, don't take it too seriously.