We’ve all worked with someone who we don’t like, and sometimes, you don’t even realise what you don’t like about them. Fast Company spoke with conflict consultant Kathleen Bartle, who suggests it’s best to recognise what about them sends you into a rage so you can deal with it better.
Picture: David Trawin/Flickr
The idea here is basically to prepare yourself for a coworker who you don’t like and to watch for whatever it is that triggers your annoyance:
Take a look at what sets you off and who’s pushing your buttons. That way, you can prepare for when it happens again. When your teeth are on edge and your hands start to shake, you can check in with yourself and defuse your response. Therefore, you won’t end up erupting angrily in the moment, which is almost never a good idea in the workplace.
“If you can pause and get a grip on your adrenaline pump and go to the intellectual part of your brain, you’ll be better able to have a conversation and to skip over the judgment,” Bartle says.
It’s similar to dealing with a frustratingly dumb coworker, but the caveat here is that the onus is on you to check yourself. We all have certain personality characteristics that we don’t along with and the workplace is a melting pot of those characteristics. You might not like it, but you have to learn to deal with it.
How to Deal with a Coworker You Can’t Stand [Fast Company]
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