Office Tensions - How You Survive Unbearable Fellow Workers

Let him raise his hand who has never met an annoying colleague capable of ruining your days and making the atmosphere in the office unbearable. To work together, it's true, you don't have to be friends, but a quiet atmosphere is good for us and, finally, not least, for the productivity of the entire team.

If we are with people we hate all day long, it is imperative that we do something to neutralize them, restore a healthy working climate, and avoid much stress and frustration at home. There are some counteractions that may be helpful, suggested by professional psychology experts.

The Virtues of the Strong

The first step is to keep quiet. If our colleague has an explosive character, the first rule is to fight a glacier cold. This does not mean passively that everyone suffers: if the person in question is our superior, we keep the explosion and then we point out our reasons with kindness and (if we are sure we are right) with a little determination.

If we find ourselves in front of our colleagues, however, we have more freedom to maneuver, but the strategy does not change: the more he (or she) raises his voice, the more we have to lower ours. The conversationator's calm often has the ability to disorient those who are angry, while raising both voices is only at risk of turning differences into a war.

A little autocrytics

In a calm moment, let them consider: Why are disagreements caused at work? We endeavor to analyze our behavior objectively, perhaps asking an opinion outside a trusted colleague: We can discover that we are aggressive, uncooperative, and very willing to defend ourselves.

Speak Honestly

It is the most direct and potentially effective strategy, even if it is not always possible to implement. It consists of a genuine dialogue with difficult friends: at a quiet moment, perhaps away from the tables, we can detect our embarrassment, the reasons why we don't feel in harmony, and what we can do to improve the situation.

Of course, confrontation should be made in friendly terms, or at least polite; it is also better to avoid whether our <x0-enemy” is very sensitive and does not accept criticism: in this case the comparison risks further conflict and it is better to be left. Remember, too, that if we don't like it, it's very likely to be different.

Let's get to know them better

Paradoxically, a way to survive a colleague... is to spend time with him, for example, working on a joint project, each with their duties, but within the framework of mutual co-operation. We can find that the person in question is not so bad, or that he has good reason to always be nervous and that he is not just a bad character. Working together can offer us the opportunity to discover his positive qualities.

Let Us Focus on Ourselves

OK, last two points haven't worked. We have nothing but to think of ourselves and of managing our emotions: bringing those around us is not under our control, but our emotional sphere is.

We try to focus on whether our colleague does not like us and how we can turn our attention away from those aspects or attitudes that disturb us. We find a way to relieve stress, both during the day and in the evening, before we return home, so that we do not bring with us the negatives that we have necessarily accumulated during working hours.

And resist the temptation to speak ill of him with other people: This kind of gossip requires energy and is not worth it.

And finally... If none of this worked, we use the art of emotional secession. In other words, let us learn how to care.