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Don't stress, we all work with that one person.
Whether they're your boss, colleague, receptionist, or the weird person who's always standing next to the water cooler looking to find a soul to bore to death about another weekend of partying, there are ways to handle the situation.
I know I love my job, and I bet you do too. However, the second you think of that person, see him/her, or even hear his voice, your stomach turns inside and out. You have an urge to scream. You want to throw your monitor across the room and see it shatter into a million pieces. Yet, you smile and say hi! Well, here are a few tips on how to battle your inner self on strangling the person.
1. Confront your coworker about the habits that irritate you
Communicating your problems with the individual is another positive action you can take. When you inform your coworker of the issues, a resolution is hopefully in reach. If you're truly lucky, you might find that your coworker didn't realize that they were irritating you.
2. Does your coworker remind you of someone you dislike
Sometimes people from work annoy us because they have tendencies of people we dislike outside of work. Confirm that this is not the case. If you find that your coworker reminds you of someone outside the office, it might be easier to work with the individual.
3. You're not going to get along with everyone
Our job at work is not get everyone to like us, our job at work is get our job done. Not everyone is the same. You can't assume the person you work with has the same values, morals, or thought process as you. Once you realize this, you might see them in a different light.
4. Stay positive
It's easier said than done. We, as employees, want everyone to like us, especially our boss. The best advice given to me was to stay professional and have a cordial relationship with anyone who agitates you at work. They are not your friends, but a colleague.
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5. Insist on a work-only relationship
Refuse to engage with them in small talk or conversations outside of the necessary communication to get work done. Always be polite and professional, but understand that the less you have to interact with them, the less of a burden their presence may be. You will have a better chance of keeping your inner peace if you don't allow them to interact with your beyond what's appropriate.
6. Don't over react
Manage how you deal with your coworker. Make sure you don't explode on your coworker or anyone else that might bump into you after time spent with that coworker. It's more productive to think about yourself and your reaction then to think about them.
7. Say no to "Watercooler Talk"
Don't be that person. Avoid the urge to gossip with coworkers about the coworker. Don't forget, you're still a professional. You tell one person one thing, the word will get around, and the word might get back to that employee and they might hear something completely different.
8. Do what others do
Ask how other in your office work with that employee. You might find a way to distance yourself from them. Maybe you're working too close to them when you didn't need to. Find a way to limit the interactions between you and the employee.
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9. Just don't care
Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want. And when you're in that situation, you might just have to ignore them. If you can't ignore them, then you need to just not care. You're there to work. You have no control over who you work with, but you do have control on how they can affect you.
10. Find a new job
And the last tip I can give you is to find a new job. Your sanity and happiness are more important than your job. Obviously don't quit without having a new job in play. Take your time and find a new company to work for, or if you love where you work, ask to be transferred to a new department.
Now the question is, "What are you going to do?"
Featured images:
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License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://cms.jotform.com/uploads/image_upload/image_upload/haroon/35556_office 2.jpg
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License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://cms.jotform.com/uploads/image_upload/image_upload/haroon/35559_office.jpg
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License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://cms.jotform.com/uploads/image_upload/image_upload/haroon/35558_work.jpg
Haroon Ahmad is the Director of Public Relations at JotForm, a popular online form-building tool based in San Francisco. Its simple drag-and-drop interface along with conveniently sortable submission data allows you to create forms and analyze data without writing a single line of code. JotForm is the solution for online payments, contact forms, lead collection, surveys, registrations, applications, online booking, event registrations, and more.
