Work In a ‘Doom Loop’? 3 Ways To Let The Sun In

Do you work in — and have to work against — a Doom Loop?

Whether you call it that or not, you likely understand what it can be — where there’s a constant vicious cycle of people focusing on the negative.

They point to faults, complain and speculate on what will get worse. Some people suck the energy, morale and effectiveness from others who might not be so negative.

“In a doom loop scenario, we can get anxious over an exaggerated, awful future,” says Andrew Shatte’, PhD, Chief Knowledge Officer and co-founder at meQuilibrium. “Once we’re in that fight or flight state, we continue to interpret neutral or even good events as threats, and so the spiral begins.”

Problem with Doom Loops

Here’s the problem with Doom Loops: They’re exactly what they’re called — a loop. Once someone starts down the negative road, it loops back with piled-on negativity and speculation.

And the more we think of the worst, the more we’re subconsciously inclined to make it happen.

Take, for example, a project goal that seems unattainable. Employees are intimidated. So one team member talks about her negative feelings: I’ve never had a goal that high. It’s going to require overtime and that’s going to interfere with my home life. Then another team member sees things similarly: Right? My wife is going to be so angry about this, especially if we fall short and I don’t get the bonus. The team starts to focus in on the negative and react with more negativity on their Slack channel: OMG! The client expects this by end of month?! We’ll never get out of the office — and we’ll still miss the goal.

Guess what they’ve done? Set themselves up to fail inside their own little Doom Loop.

“Employees who are stuck in Doom-Loop thinking fixate on negativity and typically cannot work productively,” says Shatte’.

The good news: You can interrupt, derail or straighten out a Doom Loop.

Here are three strategies:

1. Trap It, Map It, Zap It

“Small positive actions can break and prevent doom loops,” Shatte’ says. “By using tools like the one developed at meQ, — Trap It, Map It, Zap It — we can interrupt negative thoughts and return to calm more quickly.”

So what’s that look like?

• Trap it: This might require some nudging. Most of us — managers included — don’t recognize our Debbie Downer tendencies. And when we’re in a negative state of mind, we aren’t fully receptive to turning toward solutions. So you might say to the team, “I see some negativity around X. Let’s identify what’s wrong and how it makes us feel so we can approach it with some solutions.”
• Map it: Now you’ll want people to figure out where their negative emotions and Doom Loop comes from. Ask them to dig a bit deeper. Say, “What’s happened before that might prompt these feelings? What thoughts flash through your mind? When’s the last time you had these feelings?” Ask them to identify a story behind the negativity.
• Zap it: Here’s where you can help others (or even yourself) get out of the Doom Loop. Ask, “Is this thought real, or are you inventing something that’s not really there?” Looking back on experiences that turned out OK, or considering the future realities — and focusing less on the current dread — can help employees remember they’ve overcome adversity.

2. Dial in the ‘Flywheel Effect’

The Flywheel Effect was a concept developed in Jim Collin’s book Good to Great in the early 2000s. 

“The process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond,” Collins wrote.

When teams feel down, or you witness them spiraling into the Doom Loop, you can interrupt with the Flywheel.

You need small, steady positive actions. Point out those small things and their effects on the bigger picture, rather than letting people focus so easily on setbacks or feared speculations.

“Organizational practices that include positive actions such as celebrating wins and acknowledging contributions will also build on each other to create positivity in the workplace,” Shatte’ says.

Now, if you don’t have positive actions or small wins to work with, create them. Break down bigger goals into a few small milestones you know employees can hit in a doable timeframe. Those are stepping stones out of the Doom Loop.

3. Release Energy Vampires

There’s probably one way you can never escape the Doom Loop: You allow Energy Vampires to keep sucking the life out of everyone in and around it.

Energy Vampires are employees whose negative attitudes and behaviors just drain those around them.

“Energy Vampires put a huge damper on productivity and collaboration,” says Jenna Miller, Chief of Staff at Betterworks. “Who wants to work with someone who is constantly complaining or approaching their day-to-day work life with a glass half empty?”

Just one Vampire can derail a team or project. So when you see a pattern — for instance, Doom Loops around every project a certain employee is on or goals missed when that person is part of the team — it’s likely time to step in.

“To minimize impact, simply be aware of the Energy Vampires,” says Miller. “That requires regular check-ins between leaders, managers and individual contributors. But there are likely many scenarios where the Energy Vampire is not aware of their behavior.

“Assume the best in people, but don’t be afraid to dig deeper in getting to the bottom of their behavior and putting measures in place for them to thrive and improve,” she says.

You might have to set up a Performance Improvement Plan with consequences up to and including termination if they can’t move out of the Doom Loop.