Don't let negative or unproductive co-workers hold you back
from achieving your workplace and career success.
Ceridian LifeWorks, a provider of employee assistance
programs, recently reported dozens of examples of
co-workers who spread tension among other staff members,
increasing workplace stress.
Negative co-workers can abandon their workloads to you,
right before an important deadline. Their hostility can
wreck the personality of a workplace and negatively impact
your productivity.
Bad co-workers can waste your time, or they can withhold
vital information that also hurts your productivity, which
reflects on your career.
According to one recent report from "New Scientist," the
average worker wastes two hours each workday fielding
emails, annoying colleagues and phone calls.
Here are seven practical steps you can take to avoid
letting your co-workers hold you back from your workplace
success
1. Be honest with yourself first. Are you guilty of being
that unproductive or unpleasant to co-workers? Stress is
contagious when you, not just your co-workers, express
stressful behaviors at work. If you're the bad co-worker,
take proactive steps to stop your own bad behavior.
2. Identify and isolate bad co-workers. Identify toxic
co-workers and develop a plan to avoid those areas of the
office housing bad co-workers. Don't give them the
opportunity to ruin your day.
3. Don't ignore the situation. If a co-worker is behaving
badly, immediate address the situation before it becomes a
long-term instigator of stress. Politely ask a co-worker to
stop a behavior, and include a polite explanation. Example:
"I'm very busy between 10 a.m. and noon, so please don't
visit my desk during these hours."
4. Agree to disagree. Respectfully agree to disagree with
colleagues who insist they are right. Example: "I agree
your work is important, but my deadline is my top priority
right now." Example: "I respect your perspective, but I
have to return to my desk to finish a project that is
important to me."
5. Don't lose your temper. Like stress, anger is
contagious, too. Practice anger management exercises such
as deep breathing to calm you when you see a stressful
co-worker approaching your desk. Or excuse yourself to take
a quick, stress-busting walk outside the building or to
another floor and back again. Don't encourage bad behavior
from a co-worker by demonstrating your own bad behavior. If
you do, the bad co-worker wins, and you lose the control
you must assert over your workplace behaviors.
6. Use your emotionally intelligence. This is your power to
respond intelligently to emotional situations. If a member
of your work team is a chronic procrastinator, take steps
to avoid being on that co-workers team or to assign
less-taxing assignments to the slacker. Make and keep a
record of what you accomplished on a project, and, without
resorting to blaming the lazy co-worker, act positively in
positively addressing your achievements in a report to your
superiors.
7. Turn a negative into a positive. If you find yourself in
a workplace that condones or even celebrates bad
co-workers, don't focus on what you cannot change. Change
your future by actively looking for another position at a
positive workplace. Creating weekly reports tracking your
accomplishments in projects involving unproductive
co-workers becomes the basis for creating a great resume.
Yes, you can turn a negative into a positive and leave
negative co-workers or un-productive workers behind as you
sail into your next success.
----------------------------------------------------
Ruth Klein is a branding, marketing, publicity and time
management consultant to law firms and business
professionals ranging from solo entrepreneurs to the
Fortune 500. As an award-winning business owner with a
master's degree in clinical psychology, Klein brings her
unique, results-driven insights, expertise and practical
solutions to her law firm clients. For more information,
visit http://www.ruthklein.com .
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