The Turd in the Hallway!
It’s not unusual to come across a difficult co-worker in the workplace—someone who has unsavory qualities that often makes them avoidable, like a turd in the hallway, but avoiding difficult co-workers won’t make them go away. In fact, they can impact the productivity and morale of the entire team. So, what can be done to handle these tough situations? This article will look at how to cope with difficult co-workers by offering practical advice and useful solutions to benefit the whole corporate team.
First and foremost, it’s crucial to understand why a certain colleague is proving difficult to work with. Some people's behavior stems from underlying issues, such as personal or familial stresses that can manifest in their actions towards others. In other cases, the person's personality traits may rub others the wrong way—this could be anything from chronic tardiness to a combative attitude or negative attitude towards tasks assigned. It’s important to pinpoint the reasons behind the behavior in order to come up with a plan of action that works for everyone.
Once the reasons behind the behavior have been identified, team members can begin working on implementing a solution that will help minimize the negative impact of the difficult co-worker on the team. This could mean setting clear boundaries, such as being firm about deadlines or clarifying roles and responsibilities; having difficult conversations to solve conflicts through communication, setting objectives and discussing expectations; or developing a plan for dealing with difficult behaviour moving forward, setting up several check-ins throughout the day to ensure any necessary adjustments are made followed up with feedback. In tackling the issue together head-on, it ensures that everyone has a stake in how the problem is solved.
Perhaps one of the most important ways to handle a difficult co-worker is to adopt an attitude of empathy —putting yourself in the shoes of your colleagues and trying to understand the underlying reasons for a person’s difficult behaviour can help make the working relationship less unpleasant. When it comes to finding solutions, it’s important that everyone is on board with the approach—spending the time upfront to discuss the issue with everyone in order to find an optimal solution that benefits the entire team is time well spent lasting impression.
In conclusion, having to deal with difficult co-workers is a common occurrence in every workplace. However, by using empathy and clear communication, team members can work together to find practical solutions that help improve the situation. It’s important for everyone in the team to set clear boundaries and expectations, but offer compassion and maintain professional courtesy so everyone remains aligned and supporting one another.
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Bill Simmons, AIC, CPI, CASA is the owner of L2 Insurance Consulting LLC, and he is an industry recognized expert relating to insurance claims and claim related damage. Bill has worked in every aspect of insurance claims from automobile liability and subrogation to property claim specialist, and he has worked both aspects of insurance claims, for carriers as a staff adjuster, as an independent adjuster and as a public adjuster. Bill also serves as an expert witness in the insurance claim legal process. Bill lives in Panama City, FL with his wife, Amanda and their two sons, Layton and Lucas.
