The People I Work With Are Driving Me Nuts!
I’ve had a few jobs in my working career and I’ve had several co-workers that have driven to the edge.
For a year or so I worked for Quad-Graphics, who I believe is now the world’s largest printer of magazines. The shift was 12 hours long which could be rough and it meant you had to deal with a lot of personalities during those 12 hours.
There were a few times when tempers flared and a few times I was tempted to take the argument to the next level (I was a young hot head). I remember one time when I was placed in charge of one of the machines for a shift, which was a huge honor to an 18-year-old, many of my older co-workers who had been there longer weren’t happy at all.
They did everything they could that shift to create problems on the machine and make me quit, they got close. I made it through that day and learned valuable lessons that I still use today.
Moving on from that job and working at many other jobs and even owning a business has made me realize there’s never going to be a shortage of co-workers that will drive you nuts. You know exactly what I’m talking about, right?
So how do you deal with it?
Take a deep breath or walk away. There are some situations where you feel your blood pressure boiling and you have to close your eyes and breath in and out deeply, this will calm you down some. There are times when your anger will go beyond the breathing, those times it’s best to just walk away and take a short break. You don’t want to stand there and get angry to the point when you end up getting physical, it’s just not worth it.
Pray, Pray and oh yeah, pray. Prayer has been the biggest blessing for me. Nothing elaborate, just simply “Lord help me”. This will calm you down and help you focus on what’s more important. You wouldn’t want to ruin your testimony at work with a dumb decision that a small prayer could help you avoid.
Avoid negative people. If you work in an office or another small environment, you might not be able to completely avoid certain people but you can stay clear as much as possible. If you don’t have to talk to them or interact with them, then take advantage and keep it to a minimum. A negative person or attitude is very contagious and could easily rub off on you, so keep your self surrounded with positivity when possible.
Talk to them about the situation. If there’s a continual problem with someone specifically, then pull that person to the side and see if you can reason with them. You’d be surprised by how many situations can be resolved by simply talking it out. You may not think it will work or they will talk to you but try anyways.
If all else fails, talk to someone in authority. Some people or situations go beyond anything that you can work out, if it’s a real problem, then you have to talk to your boss. You shouldn’t have to go to work and dread it because certain people make you miserable, you have a right to be happy at work. Do what you can to work it out on your own, if that fails tell that person that you have to talk to someone above them.
However you approach the situation remember to be kind and calm, things will only get worse if you lose your temper. Your goal is to resolve the strife in a way that makes a better environment for everyone.
Just realize that no matter what there will always be people you just don’t see eye to eye with, we’re all made differently but that’s what makes us special. You can get through it, I did!
How do you deal with stressful co-workers?
