You’ve brought brownies to the weekly meeting and offered to stay late, lending your help to make deadline. Yet, despite your best efforts, there is still one (or maybe more) co-worker hell bent on making your work day miserable and undermining your professional contributions. We will all work with such a person at one point in our career; I have even worked with two co-workers in particular who never tried to hide their dislike for me. What made it worse was when the manager, who was friends with both co-workers, did nothing to address the problem.
A rare fit of bad behavior is excusable, but when it got to the point where their actions were directly affecting my work, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Trust me; if you’re in a similar situation, it’s not going to get better on its own. Left unaddressed, it can and will get worse. When one person’s actions begin to disrupt everyone else in the office or prevents you from completing your job, something must be done. Below are steps you can take to nip such immature behavior in the bud.
Put everything in writing. Anything your co-worker says or does to you should be documented in writing in as much detail as possible. Be sure to include the time and date of the incident as well as the names of any co-workers who were around or witnessed the incident. The more you have documented, the better.
Turn the other cheek. As hard as it may be to give the impression your co-worker’s actions do not bother you, it may be the quickest way to get them to stop. They will eventually get tired of not getting a response from you. Their behavior is based on their own insecurities and, sometimes, even envy, so don’t stoop to their level by fighting back.
Inform your manager. Notify your boss as soon as possible, providing documentation with precise details. If you work for a large corporation, find out how you can file an official report. It may be enough to put an end to the abusive behavior. Always be sure to keep copies of everything outside of the office.
Working with a difficult co-worker is not pleasant and you don’t have to take it. Consult the human resources department as soon as possible, or, if you work for a smaller company, start keeping written documentation and present it to your manager or boss. Every company has its employee’s best interests at heart and yours are no exception.
