Radiators and drains – two very different people

Theory has it, there are two types of people in life that affect your energy levels; drains and radiators.

Drains are people who have the power to suck the life out of you. Time spent with them is exhausting and leaves you feeling worse about the world and the people in it.

At work they can be toxic. Consistently negative moaners, who rarely listen or look for solutions.

Radiators, on the other hand, exude positivity and warmth and are people you want to spend time with because they make you feel good, energised and happier.

At work they are positive, good listeners and solution-oriented people with a can-do attitude.

Knowing who the radiators and drains are in your life, both in and outside of work, and managing your relationship with them can have an enormous effect on your wellbeing. But this is sometimes easier said than done as often the drains in your life are people you can’t avoid, like relatives or, dare I say it, colleagues.

Employee engagement

A lot of emphasis has been placed on employee engagement over the past few years, and with good reason.

Effective employee engagement strategies have been proven to reduce staff churn, retain more customers, and improve productivity and efficiency resulting in higher profits. By creating workplace conditions where employees feel motivated and empowered to give their best each day to contribute to business success, engaged employees are committed to organisational values, have a heightened sense of their own well being, and are happier, both in and outside of work.

Are you a radiator or a drain?

Being engaged at work can be significantly affected by those around you and, no doubt, you’ll easily identify some colleagues as either radiators or drains from the descriptions above. But which one are you? If you need some help deciding, try this exercise:

Divide a sheet of paper into two columns and put a positive sign on one and negative on the other. List the activities or the things that other people do that give you energy under the positives, and those that drain your energy under the negatives.

Reviewing the list, identify anything you know you do. On balance, which side do you come out on?

I’m sure none of us are simply one or the other, but this exercise is a good way to recognise where there’s potential to change negative behaviours. As a manager, I’m aware that my mood and behaviour affects my team and those around me. I understand that if I aim to be more of a radiator than a drain my team will feel happier and more energised, and my colleagues are more likely to look forward to collaborating with me.

Wishful thinking – or in our gift?