There are about as many varieties of the annoying coworker as there are species on earth. Some of the common offenders: the coworker who doesn\u2019t shut up; the coworker who always seems to be in a bad mood; the coworker who takes every opportunity to undermine your work; and, perhaps most offensive, the coworker who microwaves leftover fish for lunch on the regular.<\/p>\n
Whatever your battle, you\u2019re not alone. One in three people say they have a coworker who\u00a0makes them want to quit their job, according to a poll by Comparably<\/a>.<\/p>\n While confronting a problem is always challenging, there are some steps to help you ease the burden. And don\u2019t be afraid to get someone else involved if the problem is persistent or particularly delicate; it\u2019s not up to you to solve everything on your own. A boss or trusted colleague should be able to offer you some wisdom.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s some advice.<\/p>\n Put yourself in their shoes.<\/b><\/p>\n Empathy is a critical skill for all of us. If you\u2019re finding yourself consistently frustrated with a coworker, take a bit of time to put yourself in that person\u2019s shoes \u2013 Is there a reason she might be coming over to talk all the time? Is there a reason he might be in a constant bad mood?<\/em> Some of what you might be interpreting as a personality flaw could be a circumstantial problem that you may or may not be able to help with, but is worth considering as you find yourself getting flustered.<\/p>\n Avoid becoming a gossip. <\/b><\/p>\n Disliking a coworker does not give you permission to badmouth them. Resist the urge to complain to your whole office about the problems you have with your colleague; while others may have the same frustrations, having weekly bashing sessions is not going to remedy the issue. If you feel you want to share your thoughts with someone (after all, we\u2019re all human and sharing problems is natural), do it with a coworker you trust and don\u2019t make it a habit.<\/p>\n Address the situation directly but respectfully. <\/b><\/p>\n The type of coworker situation you have will dictate how you proceed here. If it\u2019s something mildly annoying (i.e. \u2013 a coworker constantly copies you on emails that you don\u2019t need to be copied on, or your cubicle buddy has his music too loud), ask to get lunch with the person and sneak in a quick chat about it. Say, \u201cMy inbox is exploding and I\u2019m trying to cut down \u2013 would you mind only copying me in when it\u2019s absolutely relevant?\u201d or \u201cI feel like a jerk for asking but is there any way you can lower the music on your headphones? I am useless if things aren\u2019t pretty quiet while I\u2019m working.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Workplace Diversity: Why It\u2019s So Important Right Now<\/a><\/em><\/b><\/p>\n Decide whether it\u2019s worth getting your manager involved. <\/b><\/p>\n If something can\u2019t be resolved directly, it may be worth having your boss intervene. They can help you figure out how to proceed, or elevate the conversation to HR if there\u2019s something more serious going on.<\/p>\n Create distance.<\/b><\/p>\n Can you move desks? Physical distance can help some problems, but not all. If you\u2019ve done all you can and nothing has changed, it may be time to consider a new department, or even a new company. Use employee data from sites like Comparably to determine the companies that have the culture and workplace environment you\u2019re craving.<\/p>\n With a bit of help, even the most mind-boggling coworker problem can reach a resolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are about as many varieties of the annoying coworker as there are species on earth. Some of the common offenders: the coworker who doesn\u2019t shut up; the coworker who always seems to be in a bad mood; the coworker who takes every opportunity to undermine your work; and, perhaps most offensive, the coworker who … Read full-story <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[65],"tags":[51,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4271"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4271"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4275,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4271\/revisions\/4275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}