How to deal with a pest co-worker

PEST CO-WORKERS

From lovers to mates to best friends, relationships surround us in every part of our lives. When you are spending 50% of your time at work you have to agree that these relatonships are rather important, not only for business but your sanity!

So how do we attempt to have a good working relationship when your co-worker does nothing but irritate the hell out of you?

It might be the smell of some food they just pulled out. Or that constant sniffing/tissue blowing. Or the humming or whistling or just that constant chit chat while you're trying to concentrate.

It's funny really that the most annoying and disturbing thing about going to work could have nothing to do with the actual work you are doing!

The 5 top tips to deal with a disruptive co-worker

1. Annoyance and Interference?

Step 1 to ironing out the creases in the work place involves you having a good hard look at the problem. Is the co-workers behaviour annoying or is it actually interfering with your job. Is the problem the co-worker or is it your attitude, in a number of situations you can be intolerant due to the low satisfaction of your job, position or personal issues.

You need to be sure that the co-worker is actually interfering with your work productivity and it is not you letting off a bit of steam because really don't like your job!

2. Quiet, please

There are many psychological differences between people, some people need absolute quiet to concentrate while other embrace noise. You need to understand what type of individual you are?

Make your manager/boss aware of this and you might be able to make some arrangements to move the layout of the office so that all the quiet people are in one corner and the noise lovers in the other corner. If you really need to hit a dead line then ask to use the conference room until you have finished the project.

3. The conversation

If neither of the above work then it is time to talk with the co-worker. This conversation does not need to be awkward or difficult, make it about work, NOT PERSONAL. Most of the time the co-worker will have no idea they are interfering with your work, habits become habitual, for example: Someone who whistles a lot doesn't consciously think about the whistling when they are doing it.

Before approaching the co-worker, come up with a couple of alternatives or compromises that might make things better for the both of you. For example: if someone likes to speak on loud speaker, maybe you can ask them to wear a head set or use a meeting room.

4. Taboo topics

Health issues such as a constant cough, bad breath or pungent body odor makes things personal and can be hard to discuss.

Management consultants suggest approaching this area with an email or text asking the co-worker if you could speak to them about something that might be difficult for them to hear.

Tread careful with this area and maybe best to just skip straight to step 5.

5. When to go to the boss

After working through the above steps and the behaviour still persists or the issue is very sensitive then it might be time to go to the boss. Never go to the boss without trying to resolve the problem by yourself first, this can come across as being a complainer and maybe look like the real issue is with you.

When you do go to the boss if there are other co-workers who are being irritated by the same co-worker then take them with you as this will show to the boss how serious the matter is.

When it comes down to it the key to a happy and productive work place is communication, the problem is that this is the hardest thing to develop IN the workplace. Be sure to value the effectiveness of your team working together as a high priority and take the time to spend moments out of the office together in order to open these communication channels. This maybe in the way of a sporting activity, breakfast, fun team activities or just a drink at the local, when you think about how important this cohesiveness is in the grand scheme of things the cost to achieve this is minimal.

Oliver Sheer

Sources:

- Pest control: Tips to put a stop to co-worker's annoying habits - Sandy Shore, Assoiciated Press 2010

- Play Well With Others: Develop Effective Work Relationships - Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide 2010