We’ve all met them. In every workplace, there’s always that one co-worker who just can’t stop him or herself from annoying everyone around them. Maybe they always want to chit-chat about their personal life, which inevitably distracts you and your other co-workers. Or perhaps they constantly complain about their daily tasks, or gossip about other people in the office. Regardless of what this individual’s particular annoying qualities happen to be, one thing is for sure: when you have a person with this type of negative energy in your workplace, the entire work environment suffers.

But don’t despair. There are a few ways to deal with an annoying co-worker and get on with your workday.

Keep your head down.

Sometimes the best way to deal with unwanted behaviour is to ignore it completely. If you do your very best to continue with your job—trying as hard as you can not to let your co-worker distract you from your tasks—there’s a good chance that eventually they will get the hint and move on.

Ask them politely to stop.

 If ignoring them doesn’t work, you do have another option before things escalate. You can politely address the issue and ask that they stop whatever they are doing to prevent you from comfortably getting your job done. Occasionally this may cause conflict. So you may want to speak to your supervisor about the issue beforehand. In some cases, your supervisor may volunteer to be the one to talk to your co-worker, which should take some of the weight of your shoulders.

Ask to be moved to a different department.

If you’ve exhausted all of your other options and you’re still finding it impossible to deal with your annoying co-worker, you may have no choice but to request a move to another division or department. This is, of course, a worst-case scenario. But it certainly is an option if you simply aren’t able to get your job done properly in the presence of this distracting individual.

Looking for a job in the GTA or Southwestern Ontario? We have offices in Toronto, Newmarket, Milton, and St. Thomas. Reach out to the professionals at HCR today.



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