Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Alyson Meister and Nele Dael of  IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, outline four types of workplace complaints and provide 3 strategies to help leaders "create a positive, high-performing work environment while monitoring and containing the risks and costs of complaining for themselves and their teams."

4 types of workplace complaints

According to Meister and Dael, complaining "is an essential and often unavoidable aspect of organizational communication." While complaints are often perceived in a negative light, they "can help manage risks, provide early red flags, uncover opportunities for growth and change, and even boost relationships and well-being" when done effectively.

When faced with employee complaints, Meister and Dael suggest identifying the type of complaint and its drivers.

"Different types of complaints have different underlying intents (both conscious and unconscious) and downstream effects," they write.

1. Productive complaining

The intent behind productive complaints is to call out and resolve an undesirable situation. These complaints, which the authors also refer to as "voice," can provide the vital feedback leaders need to adjust damaging practices or behaviors and improve processes, products, and services.

"To a manager who's willing to listen, productive complaints can offer valuable information and highlight problems that need to be addressed early before they spread through the organization," the authors note.

2. Venting

When employees vent, they are engaging in an "emotional form of complaining where the individual — often vigorously — expresses their dissatisfaction about someone or something to others."

Typically, the intent behind venting is to let go of bottled-up stress or frustration, or to find allies that make employees feel heard and support them on a certain issue.

While emotional venting can temporarily relieve distress, it "puts a double burden on the listener." First, the listener is tasked with handling the complainer's negative emotions. Then, they must address their own reaction to the issue.

"If this persists, it can result in exhaustion and empathy or compassion fatigue in the listener," the authors write. "Further, if venting becomes a widespread and habitual way to deal with unpleasant emotions instead of solution-oriented, productive complaining, it can ignite chronic stress and contribute to a negative emotional culture."

3. Chronic complaining

Overall, chronic complainers often hold a more negative view of their role, their work, and the world.

"In this case, complaining reflects a mindset and attitude — not necessarily an objective problem," the authors write. "The social costs of this behavior are high, as listening to a chronic complainer zaps energy and those around them often quickly give up trying to help because it never actually seems to help; a new grievance replaces an old one."

However, chronic complainers can also identify potential issues or red flags before they impact the entire organization.

"They'll either surface problems or eventually exhaust those they work with," the authors note.

4. Malicious complaining

Malicious complaints are a destructive form of complaining intended to "undermine colleagues or gain an unfair advantage," the authors write. "Some kind of personal (or group) gain, rather than dissatisfaction with an organizational issue, lies at the heart of this behavior."

"This type of complaining rarely has an upside — and it can create a toxic and psychologically unsafe work environment, lower team morale, and negatively impact productivity if it proliferates," the authors add.

3 strategies to address workplace complaining

It is vital that leaders understand how to handle complaints with care. The authors offer three strategies to help leaders "develop a strategy to listen to and act on complaints, harness their benefits, and mitigate their destructive potential."

1. Be interested and curious

When an employee surfaces a complaint, Meister and Dael emphasize the importance of keeping an open mind.  

"When an employee complains about a particular topic, consider the intention," they write. If you cannot determine the intent behind the complaint, the authors suggest asking the complainant, "What do you hope to achieve with your feedback, and how might I help you?" 

"This can help employees make sense of why they're complaining and offer solutions for how you can support them," they note.

2. Welcome constructive complaints

Meister and Dael also urge leaders to "encourage perspective-taking and solution-oriented, productive complaining."

"Employees who know they have a clear opportunity to voice concerns about something they're dissatisfied about might just wait for the appropriate time and place instead of seeking out others behind closed doors, which can ignite complaint contagion and malicious complaining," they write.

3. Address destructive complaints

According to the authors, addressing "the negative forms of complaints that can quickly undermine culture and teamwork" is critical.

When an employee is "known" for malicious or ongoing chronic complaints, others might start to ignore them, resulting in potentially valid complaints getting lost.

"By managing these different types of complaints with the appropriate behaviors, managers can create a positive, high-performing work environment while monitoring and containing the risks and costs of complaining for themselves and their teams," the authors write. (Meister/Dael, Harvard Business Review, 5/3)