Your productivity at work greatly depends on your peace of mind. The more you feel relaxed and comfortable, the better you perform. But a workspace can become a nightmare if you have teammates or coworkers with behavioral problems. So, if you have been going through a similar situation in your office and want to solve this problem once and for all, then we are going to help you out in this regard. In this article, we will list down and discuss some of the best tips to deal with difficult coworkers that will also help you release your work stress.
Don’t Let It Get Personal
You might be aware of the nature of people always causing you trouble at work. It is better not to take anything personally. No matter what they say or talk about you, just don’t react or take it personally.
When you won’t be agitated by their bullying, they would naturally stop bothering you. Also, reacting to their comments or harsh words would only negatively impact your performance. Reporting their ill conduct to the higher management is one of the wisest ways to handle a difficult coworker.
Communicate the Issues You’re Having
You should have the guts to voice the problems you have been facing. Sometimes remaining silent or not saying anything could also put a wrong impression about you on others that you like being mistreated.
Communication might be the key to your problems. You may know a colleague who may be close to that particular problematic person. Try talking to them to convey your message. Maybe they can help you out with the situation by letting the bullying person realize that their behavior is bothering others.
Get to Know Their Perspective
Sometimes people just argue for the sake of argument, which often leads to greater conflicts. This can impact your and your entire team’s performance. Things can get even more difficult for you if you are in a leading position.
So, instead of talking too much or shouting at one another, try to listen. This is one of the best tips to deal with problematic coworkers. It will help you know their perspective. It could be a possibility that by getting familiar with their point of you, you and your teammates, especially the ones that are causing you trouble, could get on the same page.
Be a Better Person
No one’s perfect. There is always room for improvement. We might think that our coworkers have behavioral issues, but what if we are wrong? What if they have the same point of view about us as we have for them.
This is why we should always take things slow. We need to give our nervous system a break to let it digest and process all the information correctly. To do so, we should always analyze our personalities to find out where we are lacking.
We can always make the first move to become a better person. Responding to the other person with a smiling facing and welcoming gesture will always help. Your good attitude could even have a positive impact on the coworkers with problematic habits, you never know.
Develop Effective and Long-lasting Work Relationships
One of the most effective tips on how to deal with difficult coworkers and the negativity they are spreading in the office you work in is to develop deeper and stronger relationships with other colleagues.
You can always overcome negativity with positivity. This means if everyone is helping out each other and cooperating, it won’t take long for the people causing a nuisance in the office to let go of their bad habits.
Limit Your Interactions
When you see that you just can’t control things, you can always limit your interactions, especially with the person who is bothering you. If you have a separate cubicle, then it would be much easier for you to do so. Otherwise, even if you work in an office that has an open floor plan, you can always get involved in any of the pending tasks or try completing your work ahead of time.
Another great way of keeping things to yourself is by putting on your earphones and listening to your favorite podcast while working. It would even work if your problematic colleague is just sitting right next to you. This is also one of the best tips for handling difficult coworkers.
Ask Your Manager to Help You Out
You may have a reporting manager at your workplace, you can always bring up to them any kind of work-related issue. Your manager should know about the coworkers who are bullying or bothering you and won’t let you perform at work.
They can then change your or your coworker’s team, department or seating arrangement, or even talk to you both to come to a peaceful settlement. However, you should always have a solid reason for accusing someone of problematic behavior, especially in front of your manager, otherwise, things could go the other way round.
Focus on the Positive
Positive thinking is one of the best ways to manage mental stress. It is better to think about the things you have achieved at work lately or how far you have come in your career life. This could help you distract from all the negativity.
Focusing on the positive is, hands down, one of the most productive tips on how to deal with difficult coworkers. Think of the problems they may have been facing in their lives that have made them so stubborn and nosy. This could help you see the positive side of the situation you are dealing with. Optimism has a very good impact on your health and well-being.
Talk to a Friend
A piece of friendly and thoughtful advice from a dear friend would always come in handy. If you are comfortable sharing it with your friend, you can tell them about the people or situation that is bothering you at the office.
Talking to someone, especially a close friend, is how you can put the load off your chest and feel light. It would make you feel good. And who knows, your friend could give you the best advice to handle a problematic colleague and put an end to all your problems.
We hope the tips we have shared above on how to deal with difficult coworkers will help you in some way to solve the problems you have been facing at work. If you like this post, share it with your friends and family. Keep following Openiun.com to read more interesting articles.
Also Read: 5 Tips for Keeping Coworkers Happy
