In the "No"
Pessimistic employees may not be so bad for your business after all.
By Nichole L. Torres • Sep 1, 2004
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Pessimism has gotten a bad rap-nobody wants to hire apessimist. But a recent study conducted at Central MichiganUniversity found there are benefits to pessimism-pessimiststend to make safer choices with regard to gambling than theiroptimistic counterparts. So could pessimistic employees be an assetto your business?
An employee who plays devil's advocate or sees potentialobstacles to a project can be invaluable. Says Bill Catlette,co-author with Richard Hadden of Contented Cows Give Better Milk: The Plain TruthAbout Employee Relations and Your Bottom Line, "Often,that difference manifests itself in the form of caution orskepticism-qualities that good leaders come to appreciate andeffectively utilize."
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