You have found your desired job or at least one that will pay the bills as you bide your time looking for a better one. There is only one problem – that bothersome co-worker.
It happens in offices nationwide every day, every month and every year. You try but just cannot get along with someone in your office. When that is the case, what exactly is the remedy?
Many employees are able to tune out that bothersome co-worker, but what if you just can’t get by each day without letting them get to you? Is it worth your time to complain about them or should you just resign yourself to the fact that they will be an unfortunate part of your life for some 40 hours a week?
The first step is to decipher exactly what it is about this individual that has them getting under your skin.
Are they complaining about matters that are professional, personal or both? Are they talking about you behind your back to other co-workers? Finally, are they just such a disturbance during your shift that it is impacting your ability to complete work tasks?
For any of us who have ever worked, be it a part-time or full-time job, for minimum wage, a decent salary or really good money, we have all encountered at least one individual along the way who we’d be happy to never again deal with.
If you’re finding yourself in this situation, see if you and the other individual can step aside for a few minutes or even go out to lunch and discuss what the issue is.
Maybe it is something as simple as they talk too loudly and it is impacting your concentration level at work. Whatever the issue, try and resolve it between the two of you so that your supervisor, the head of human resources or even the person in charge of the company is not drawn into the issue.
In the event you have to get a third party involved in the matter, be very careful in how you come across to that other individual. In trying to solve the initial problem you could possibly create another unintended consequence in that you come across bad to the person trying to mediate the problem.
If other workers in your office are also bothered by this individual who gets under your skin, then going to HR or the boss in numbers certainly cannot hurt. As the old adage always points out, there is strength in numbers. Having one or more co-workers collaborate your story certainly can’t hurt.
If you stop and think about it, most workers do not go out of their way to bother others in the office or wherever the setting may be. Unless they are a glutton for punishment, there is really no sense for them to act out and potentially jeopardize their own job.
Whatever solution you find works best for you in handling a problem co-worker, make sure that jeopardizing your job is the furthest thing from reality.
Remember, the bothersome co-worker is just that, a co-worker. You only have to put up with them one-third of your day; surely there are far worse things in life.
Come to think of it, being out of work would be one of them.
Dave Thomas is an expert writer on digital security systems based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on surveillance systems purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.