Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the recently released movie because “horrible bosses” exist outside Hollywood, and dealing with difficult people in the workplace is inevitable. It’s crucial to be prepared to handle these challenging, and often frustrating, situations when they arise. While everyone is expected to perform business with professionalism, the truth is that sometimes colleagues lose sight of others’ needs, and insert laziness, selfishness, thoughtlessness and other negative behaviors into the workplace.
Before pointing fingers, be sure to assess whether or not the situation is harming business productivity. If you are sure that the problem goes beyond two people simply not getting along, then it is safe to say that confronting the situation is necessary before matters worsen.
Prior to outing an ongoing problem with a difficult colleague, be sure of a few things:
1. The source of the problem: Identifying the source of the problem is key. Is the problem due to a prior misunderstanding, or an ongoing negative behavior on the part of a coworker? Your answer to this question will help you find a way to a solution. If the conflict is due to a misunderstanding over a procedure, then it is possible for you to reach out and clarify to the team as a whole. Things may become more difficult if conflict is created because of a colleague’s negative behavior, and at this point you may consider involving superiors who have proper authority to confront the problem.
2. The negative consequences of the problem: Know exactly why the conflict needs to be addressed. Think of this as your “evidence.” When you can explain specifically how the consequences of an unwanted behavior are problematic, then your point that change is needed cannot be refuted.
3. A tangible solution to the problem: Asking someone to completely alter their habitual behaviors may be difficult without some kind of tangible suggestions towards achieving a solution. Be sure to have some ideas on hand as to how the situation can be improved before confronting someone else. This way, it is clear that your interest is in improving productivity, not just to call a coworker out on his or her faults.
Keep these ideas in mind next time a conflict arises at work, and you’ll find that arriving at a solution is not as horrible as it may seem!