The key to victory lies in understanding the emotions that trigger the Hoovers and managing them effectively. I know you say you cannot contemplate leaving him while the children are so young and I get it, I really do, about how overwhelming this may seem. In many cases, talking about your problems can help to iron them out or can make you feel better about a particular situation.

I’m not talking about the colleague who lets off steam about something or the teacher who often gets involved in heated discussions regarding school policy. No matter how positive you are, sometimes you’re in a situation where those around you have lost their mojo and radiate negativity. There is always a way out and you are married to this person; exercise your legal rights fully here. No matter how great your vision is or how positive you are, if you want your team to succeed, you need to manage “mood hoovers” within your team. However, if it happens on a regular basis, it can be exhausting, draining and detrimental to the overall performance of your team.But, hopefully this article has allowed people to reflect on such interactions and understand that if they don’t challenge it, it is at least important to make sure your own mood is affected, overall, in as little way as possible. There are several strategies to deal with mood hoovers and here at Brightstone we passionately believe that with the right business coaching and support, everyone can be worked with to become valued and effective members of any organisation.

To give mood hoovers an accurate description, they are people who suck the energy, life, and positivity out of a person and replace it with their own negativity. My radio role now didn’t play to my strengths and if I was to look at the job description, it wasn’t a match for me. I had 2 dc with my exh and then had a third as a single mum with a father who has only seen his child once. Everybody has bad days, or even bad periods, but mood hoovers are easily identifiable by their continued lack of enthusiasm, motivation and positivity. As George Michael so eloquently put it in the classic hit Young Guns, ‘caution pays’ (although George was talking about death by matrimony rather than death by sabre-toothed Tiger).No matter how competent they are in their role, they are destructive, bring negativity to any situation and bring the rest of the team down – “misery loves company”. Everyone spends time in both areas of concern and influence but the question is ‘Where do you spend most of your time? While it's important to set boundaries and avoid triggers, it's also important to encourage positive behaviour.