Dealing With Difficult People at Your Workplace

A difficult person is someone who makes it difficult to communicate, rarely listens to our opinion, someone who pushes our buttons just to get to their aim or just they have a certain personality that does not match with ours. Why do they make our lives this difficult? Well, I don’t think we have the right answer to this question, however, a fact that we all know and in a way answers our question is that we are all different and  unique. Before we analyze the “why” of this problem, let us focus on how to act in such cases. 

Be kind

We all get it, our first gut reaction when we deal with difficult people, is to be difficult back. We`ve all been there! You will be shocked to find out that kindness goes beyond being difficult. We shouldn’t let their negativity or anger bring out the inner beast in us. Rather, breathe it in, and let it go! With a certain level of composure, anything can be managed!

Be empathic

Have you ever played the game” safe space” before? Everyone sits in a circle and people start shoving their problems to a bunch of people. The thing is, you will want to take your words back, once you hear everyone’s problems. None of us really know what other people are dealing with and it might be that they are going through a tough time. Most of the time, when you show compassion to someone who is being difficult, they will respond positively. When we are stuck in our heads, overthinking, one might need/use some kindness.  

Find something in common

When you are talking to someone for the first time, and you find something in common, it immediately creates some sort of a stronger connection right?! It is always nice to find out you like the same show, you have the same interests or you both like blueberry cake. This creates a bond, and once you have something in common the conversation afterward will get smoother. 

Stay calm

Have you ever received an email from someone at work that immediately made you frustrated? Have you typed a whole “professional reply” to that person, thinking that you might take the keyboard off from its place? Something happened, you took a moment to read that email, proofread it and you decided to delete what you actually wrote and started a new, kinder, email. What could have made things worse, this kind email only eased the communication. If you can remain calm when dealing with a difficult person, it will definitely help you greatly.

Approach and have a discussion with the person

If what you have tried until now hasn’t actually been helpful, try to have a chat with those people that you are having a hard time communicating with. You’ll be surprised to find out that some of them might not even be aware of their impact on you. The worst that can happen is that they know their impact, deny having done something to you or try to explain it away.   

Ignore them

One of the best ways to deal with difficult people is by ignoring them completely. No one wants to have that kind of negativity in their life. And to be honest, we don’t really need any of that. I mean, this depends if you are able to ignore them. If not, then you have already done everything that you could within your means, so get on with your work tasks and face that person only when you have to or tell your problems to your manager or human resources. 

Having good and healthy communication with your coworkers, it’s very important for our lives. In order for us to live a happier life, it’s definitely worth learning some ways or techniques to deal with difficult people. Try these tips on how to deal with difficult people at your workplace and see how they work out for you!

Picture: Shutterstock / ID: 1226197897

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