How to Deal with Difficult Coworkers Like a Pro?

Difficult people exist everywhere, but at the workplace, you will get to meet them every day. Sometimes an annoying co-worker is not a headache while other times you can end up losing your patience. This behavior can negatively impact your reputation at the workplace and even force you to leave. If you love everything about your work and office except that one person or group of bothersome buddies, you should know how to deal with difficult coworkers.

Quitting the job or engaging in quarrels or badmouthing about that person is not a professional way to resolve the issue.  You never know that a new place or new team would be even worse than this, so learn the art of dealing with such situations with our tips.

How to Deal with Difficult Coworkers?

1. Maintain Boundary

We all have personal boundaries, right. Apply this rule in the professional environment too and let people know that there’s a line they can’t cross, whosoever it may be. This will help you manage your relationship with colleagues and even bosses irrespective of their kind.

For this, you need to set the boundaries from the first day or make it clear whenever the person crosses LOC.

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2. Stop Participating

Just because you spend 8-9 hours at the office doesn’t mean you should be involved with everyone. Maybe you do this because of FOMO but you need not mix up every time. Try to isolate yourself from the coworkers who always spread negativity or involve in gossip that makes things difficult for you.

This applies to the annoying bosses and managers as well, just do it in a polite fashion.

3. Identify Trigger Points

Sometimes it’s not the person but the way or a topic that makes you feel hurt or angry. This can be dealt with only when you analyze yourself rather than the intended person. It will help you understand what you can do to make it less challenging at the workplace and also improve relationships with coworkers.

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4. Share With the Supervisor

When things go out of hand, it’s better to talk to one at a higher position who can figure out a midway. That person can be a supervisor, manager, or HR. But while taking this step, do not criticize the person but rather focus on the incident. This way you can be on the safe side plus get a solution as well. However, do not complain about the difficult coworker. Be open up and then take the step.

5. Learn About Them

We are human and humans make mistakes so don’t judge them for what they have done previously. Look at the other side of the story, maybe there’s something terrible that has shaped them that way.

Also, evaluate your behavior towards them, because it takes two to make a quarrel so don’t focus on one side. Be open with that colleague, reflect on how his particular behavior has affected you, and then resolve the matter.

But if things are repetitive and you see no change in their behavior towards you then the above-mentioned tips are the only ways to deal with difficult coworkers. Remember that not every apple is of the same shape and neither does it taste the same. The same goes for the colleagues.

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Final Words !!!

The office should be a fun place to work, learn, and make better professional connections but not everyone is lucky to have such a place. Some colleagues might be easy-going, fun-loving, and team players while others can be totally opposite- less focused, gossip lovers, toxic, and dominating.

You gotta deal with everyone in the right way rather than leaving or compromising. Think of it as an opportunity to improve your social and interaction skills which will help you take up more managerial roles in the future.