8 Easy and Effective Ways to Cope with Annoying Co-Workers ...

Being nice is a pretty effective way of dealing with annoying co-workers, especially the kind who try to undermine you or are rude to your face. By being nice, you give them no obvious reason to complain about you, and look the better person if they do.

Watch out for anyone who might cause you problems. This way, you may be able to prevent any issues arising – it´s a lot easier to nip something in the bud than to deal with it once it´s already happening. You also shouldn´t be afraid to act in order to prevent problems before they start – sometimes we don´t want to say anything because we don´t want to appear mean.

Let´s say you´re constantly being pressured to socialise with colleagues, but you don´t really want to pend your spare time with people you work with. If you don´t want to do something, then politely but firmly turn an invitation down. This also goes for anyone who invites you on a date; if you´re not interested, then say thanks but no. And if you don´t want to cover for someone who´s always late, then don´t.

Some people like to complain about their colleagues; the best way to deal with this particular irritation is to make sure you don´t give them reason to do so. Do your job efficiently, and it will be hard for them to justify any complaints.

In most cases, annoying co-workers are best dealt with yourself. If it´s not a serious issue, then complaining to senior staff will simply make you look like someone who can´t work with others, or who is actually causing a problem themselves. Save talking to management for when someone is affecting the work of others, or doing something like harassing you.

Obviously we need to be able to get along with colleagues, at least on a superficial level. If you really don´t want to discuss anything personal with them, then keep such things to yourself and don´t feel obliged to talk about it. Similarly, if you dislike office gossip, then refuse to participate.

When an annoying co-worker insists on bothering you and you don´t want to talk to them or can´t spare the time, politely but firmly tell them that you have work to be getting on with and can´t spare the time. If you´re not busy, then learn to cultivate the appearance of someone who is occupied with many tasks.

This is really rather mean, but if there is someone who annoys you at work simply because of their personality, you could always try deflection. Say, for example, that they always want to chat about their boring hobbies, then tell them you´ve heard that Simon in accounts is absolutely fascinated by the same thing, and send them off to bore him instead …

Annoying co-workers can be a constant irritation, but there are ways of dealing with them. Unless you work by yourself, there are bound to be people who get on your nerves, whether they intend to or if it´s simply a mismatch of personalities. So since you can´t escape them, you have to learn to live with them. What are the most annoying co-workers you´ve ever had?

Top Photo Credit: pinterest.com