5 Strategies To Deal With A Horrible Co-Worker

5 Strategies To Deal With A Horrible Co-Worker

Warning! Horrible co-worker ahead! Every workplace has one. That absolutely impossible, difficult, nasty, backbiting individual who makes it his/her personal mission in life to belittle everyone else and make their life a living hell. Usually, people like this are also extremely manipulative and good at managing both HR and their own boss.


When you’re forced to work with or for one of these human porcupines, here are some strategies that will help you escape the worst of the pokes.

Understanding The Nature Of Work Bullies

To begin, you need to understand how this person got like this in the first place. It’s a little bit nature and a little bit nurture. Every once in a while this personality type is just plain mean through and through. However, usually nasty behavior stems from a deep personal insecurity about themselves or their ability to perform their job. Maybe they feel they aren’t good enough; maybe they never got an “A” in school; maybe their mom beat them as a child (seriously). For whatever reason, they feel inferior and by making you miserable they are bringing you down, too. They get perverse satisfaction by doing this. It’s a vandal’s mentality. Smashing nice things that belong to others is fun.

How To Deal With A Horrible Co-Worker

Woman listens to a horrible coworker

If they are truly horrible they also chase much of the competition for their job and vertical promotions away. This only makes them even more horrible because they now see concrete rewards for their bad behavior. Before you know it, all office etiquette is thrown out the window and there is an office monster on the loose.

1. Killing Porcupines With Kindness

Coworkers talk at work

The number one best strategy for dealing with a horrible co-worker is to kill them with kindness. For every exasperated sigh, provide a smile. For every accusatory rant and rave, provide a calm understanding response. Always stand your ground but don’t react to their nastiness. After the first or second time you throw kindness in their face, the bad behavior should stop. Best of all, you will get a euphoric feeling inside: “Aha, I’ve controlled the beast!” This will make it easier and easier to keep your calm when confronted with accusations, backstabbing campaigns, and ghastly behavior. Best yet, if they keep it up you will make them look like an utter fool.

2. Physically Remove Yourself Whenever Possible

Tired man at work

This doesn’t mean transfer departments. It means being aware of a negative environment and removing yourself from it. You wouldn’t work outside in a snowstorm unless you had to. Why work next to a human tornado? If you have a flexible work environment, it will be easier for you to focus on your job if you aren’t constantly upset and trying to manage the work bully. There is a lot to say for out of sight, out of mind. Even noise reduction headphones (turned on or off) can do wonders. Make it clear to your boss that you can be found at all times in your new alternate location. Don’t ever give up your territory—just be somewhere else a lot of the time.

3. Don’t Get Mad, Get Even

Upset boss talks to employees

Whenever emotions take over the brain it is almost impossible to think logically and make good decisions. Realize you need to manage your own responses as much as managing the work bully. An easy way to do this is to lay future fantasy plans about ways to get even with the work bully. With every snide remark, you can add another imagined revenge. In all likelihood, you will never actually follow through on any of your plans, but if you bide your time there may come a point when you can inflict massive and substantial damage to the work bully and seriously undermine their career. Revenge like this is unbelievably sweet. This sounds evil, but think of all the poor future souls you will be protecting.

4. Manage The Tiger, But Never Trust Him/Her

Woman yells at a coworker

Often the work bully will respond favorably to your kindness and afterward try to befriend you. No matter how tempting this is (you might actually really come to like them), never trust the Tiger. This is a professional relationship; let it become more and don’t be surprised if you get bitten.

5. Avoid Engaging In Teams Of People Against The Bully

Man breaks up a fight between his coworkers

The camaraderie may be nice and the nasty battle-ax deserves it, but this type of behavior is unprofessional and against all normal office etiquette. In addition, bullies are uncommonly good at staving off attacks. Fighting is what they do best. Don’t assume you and your comrades will end up winning the war.

Don’t let a nasty co-worker bring you down. Follow these tips and be the better office mate!

If you’re struggling to connect with people at your job and/or find a community of people who support your career goals, we’re here for you.

We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

4 Tips For Becoming The Co-Worker Everyone Loves

4 Tips For Becoming The Co-Worker Everyone Loves

Let’s make things clear: It’s impossible for everyone in the workplace to be your close friend. It’s possible, however, to grow positive working relationships with them.


So, what do we mean when we say positive relationships? Every employee dreams of working in an environment where positivity resonates. Where people are supportive of each other. Where you feel motivated to work hard, not to mention score a perfect attendance, because your colleagues are encouraging. We all aspire to be a part of a team made up of awesome people. How do you ensure now, that you, yourself, are a good colleague to your teammates? You know you need to attract pleasant treatment before you receive it.

With that, here are a few tips for becoming the co-worker everyone loves:

1. Be Pleasant

Coworkers laugh during a meeting

Remember the golden rule? Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do unto you. This also rings true in the workplace. If you treat people around you coldly and refuse to share even a smile, then you could as well expect your colleagues to seem distant. Although people will have varying attitudes, they can still work together well. It takes open-mindedness to survive and thrive in such an environment. So learn to look past differences. Accept others as they are. Show kindness. It will be returned in situations you need it the most.

2. Be Innovative

Coworkers work together

It is easy to keep to yourself while in the workplace—minding your own tasks, limiting talks with your colleagues, and going straight home after work. Your motivation to go to the office every day is the paycheck you receive. You comply with what you’re told to do, but do not really extend efforts going beyond what is expected of you. If there’s anything you want to explore in addition to the tasks assigned to you, let your boss know. Volunteer to assist your colleagues who might be able to use extra hands. If the resources given to you are not enough, then take the initiative to look for more. Consult your colleagues; ask your boss. Nobody wants someone who depends on spoon-feeding.

3. Respect The Bosses

Coworkers listen to their boss

Bosses can sometimes be difficult. They, sometimes, reach out to the team as though they’re on the same level as them. Bosses are not created equal. They may be using different approaches to inspire their team. There are times when you would find their rules too stringent, or perhaps lax. However, they act. Remember, they are your superiors, your leaders. Even if, at times, you might find their behavior uncalled for, never speak negatively about them to your colleagues. If there is anything you need to say, tell it straight to them. This is not to say that you smarm your boss; however, it would help that they have a positive impression of you.

4. Sustain Healthy Competition

Coworkers talk about a project at work

How do you look at your workplace? Is it something you see as a battlefield, with all your colleagues as your enemies? Is it a place you call your second home with people you deem as your other family? Is it a haunted mansion with everyone around acting like zombies? It’s okay to be competitive. But to aspire for progress so much that you’re already building barriers from your colleagues can be harmful. You are a team still, and to get ahead doesn’t mean you need to leave people behind or hanging. Do your best while reaching out in any way you can to your colleagues.

Becoming the co-worker everyone loves is easier than you think, as long as you do these four things at work. Start building positive workplace relationships today!

If you’re struggling to connect with people at your job and/or find a community of people who support your career goals, we’re here for you.

We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.

It’s time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.