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No workplace situation can be more draining than working alongside an unpleasant coworker. From their annoying personalities to stealing ideas and hampering productivity, working alongside such toxic colleagues is enough to reduce productivity levels significantly.
Learning more about a difficult coworker can help you understand their behavior and empathize with them more. Here are some useful tips that may assist!
1. Don’t Get Defensive
Working with difficult coworkers can be stressful. But it is important to keep in mind that while you cannot control their actions or reactions, you can control yourself.
Reacting defensively will only escalate matters further. Allowing difficult coworkers to affect your productivity and work performance could have serious repercussions for you as well as spreading negativity throughout the workplace and creating an uncomfortable working environment.
Instead of becoming upset, try viewing their behavior as an expression of their personal struggles. For instance, if a coworker seems intent on criticizing or bitching about you often enough it could be an indicator that they feel threatened or jealous by your success.
Understanding why a colleague acts this way is key to being able to empathize with them and finding solutions to issues. If the situation becomes difficult for you to manage on your own, don't be intimidated into seeking assistance from management or human resources; mentoring or coaching professionals may also provide useful assistance in developing constructive communication strategies with challenging coworkers in order to prevent conflicts from intensifying further.
2. Ask for Help
No matter your personality type, when someone treats you unfairly it's essential that you speak up and express your concerns, requesting assistance from management, HR or any other internal resources as necessary.
Communication should remain professional and not involve backbiting coworkers behind their backs; doing so could escalate a situation further. If necessary, vent your anger through other outlets such as friends outside work or counselors instead of giving an adversarial coworker ammunition against you.
Sometimes difficult coworkers may simply be experiencing an especially trying time and you can offer support by seeking their perspective and offering assistance. They may not realize the negative consequences of their actions until you politely highlight these actions with statements like, 'When you do this, I feel this way." This approach can help diffuse tensions before moving forward into productive and beneficial working relationships.
3. Don’t Make It Your Problem
As we spend much of our day working, it is crucial that we maintain good working relationships with our coworkers. Unfortunately, not all colleagues can be easily accommodated; some can be difficult, cynical, and toxic, creating an atmosphere which reduces productivity.
Even though it might be tempting to voice your complaints against an unpleasant coworker in public, doing so will only serve to escalate matters and create more conflict in the workplace. Doing so also puts you at risk of being perceived as gossip or negative person within your workplace.
If your difficult colleague continues to be an issue, seek assistance from either your manager or human resources. They can act as mediators and help resolve the situation; alternatively you could try workplace mediation tools provided by your company for managing emotions in the workplace. Focus on what's in your control -- such as your reactions when confronted by difficult coworkers -- while working toward developing healthy professional relationships within your office environment.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Talk to Your Manager
Troublesome coworkers can be an enormous source of anxiety. If their behavior continues to interfere with your ability to do your job, it may be helpful to involve either your manager or someone from HR in helping resolve the situation.
When approaching your manager about an uncooperative coworker, be prepared with documentation of how they have affected you. Be considerate in your approach; do not approach your boss when they are trying to meet deadlines or exhausted at the end of their day/week.
At the end of the day, it's essential to keep in mind that only you are responsible for controlling your actions and responses. No one else's bagel-eating habits, unwelcome kissing habits or idea-stealing tactics can be changed; but you can work toward mitigating their impact on your professional success.
Angela Darrens is a writer who strives to foster harmonious workplace environments through writing and mediation. Currently she's partnering with Triple 7 Movers Las Vegas and hopes to empower people through their career journeys.
5. Keep It Private
There may not be much we can control about a work environment, but there is still much we can do to make it healthier and more productive for all involved. One way of doing this is learning how to deal with difficult coworkers in order to lessen their negative impact.
If a coworker is asking too many personal questions or consistently criticizing other employees, setting boundaries and informing them that their behavior is unacceptable is essential to creating an appropriate work environment. Furthermore, conversations between yourself and any problem-causing colleagues should remain private so as not to draw others into any conflicts that might ensue.
Difficult coworkers often act in toxic ways due to unresolved issues or power struggles that are unresolved, so understanding their toxic behavior and taking appropriate steps will help address its source and improve your relationship. Recognizing such behavior will enable you to address its source and improve relationships overall - most importantly stay positive and don't allow their negativity drag you down! Angela Darrens, a freelance writer specializing in creating harmonious workplace environments; currently collaborates with Triple 7 Movers Las Vegas where she inspires positive change through mediation services that focus on thoughtful writing and mediation services for positive change among their customers.