SPOT THE OFFICE
S C O
Most of the time, it’s easy to avoid people who annoy us. But there’s one place we simply can’t escape the rude, the lazy and the plain nasty – work BY IWONA TOKC-WILDE
e“There are many xplanations for
difficult workplace behaviours: low self-esteem, inability to cope with stress, poor interpersonal skills, relationship/family problems or even mental illness
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If you work in a harmonious environment, consider yourself lucky. The rest of us have to deal with individu- als whose toxic behaviour drains our time and energy, who impede our efforts and make us paranoid. Some days we feel like throwing in the towel. But quitting our job when a toxic colleague drives us insane isn’t the answer – we would meet another one soon enough. Dr John Clarke, the author of Working with Monsters, says there are many explanations for difficult workplace behaviours: low self-esteem, inability to cope with stress, poor interpersonal skills, relationship/family problems or even mental illness. However, whatever the reasons, these behaviours can be ‘diagnosed’ and man- aged more easily than you think. Here’s how to spot a toxic colleague and how to handle them.
The gossip One of the most toxic colleagues to have around, they’re driven by the psychological need to feel special and pow- erful, says Tom Fortes Mayer, the founder and Creative Director of FreeMind, an organisation that specialises in leadership training, emotional intelligence and perform- ance psychology. This office worker knows everything – who’s up for promotion, who’s about to get the sack, and
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who’s clocking off early. They may be seen as a welcome distraction and a goldmine of useful information. What’s not to like, right? Wrong. The ‘useful’ information can cause hurt and
embarrassment, especially when it gets distorted in an office game of Chinese whispers. But the gossip doesn’t care and moves on to the next target. If you partake, beware, one day it may be you! The best you can do is to ignore them. The fewer people give them the attention they crave, the sooner the gossip will stop. If, however, you do get cornered and are about to hear something you don’t want to, simply change the subject.
The time stealer This creature thrives in an open-plan office and you’re unlucky if they sit next to you. Bored or, according to Tom, possessing an over-inflated sense of how interest- ing they are, this person will tell you about their annoy- ing in-laws when you’re typing up that urgent report, smiling politely through gritted teeth and risking locked jaw in the process. But time stealers are often nice people looking to
forge some kind of a bond, so we don’t want to be rude. “Instead, approach each conversation as a business
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