Dealing with difficult people at work is one of the most draining processes. It’s a most annoying, bewildering and energy sapping experience that blocks you from employing your time profitably. Working alongside these difficult people is exhausting enough, but managing difficult people is a case for more anxiety, vexation and stress in the workplace than anything else.
DIFFICULT COLLEAGUES, DIFFICULT BOSS AND DIFFICULT CLIENTS
When you are dealing with difficult people at work they could be your colleagues or your boss. They can also comprise of difficult customers, difficult patients or others. Such people may make your working life unendurable and are frequently combatant, demanding, argumentative, impolite and belligerent. They’re able to get beneath your skin and act on your emotions. They’re tiresome, stressful and irksome.
DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE AT WORK – AN IMPORTANT METHOD
Therefore whether it is your co-worker, your manager or customers there’s an important method you need to adopt when handling the difficult people in your work and personal situations. If you are struggling with difficult people or handling people with difficult behaviors it is critical that you aim to respond instead of react to these people. There is a very big difference between responding to these people and reacting to people who you encounter as being so difficult.
CHANGING FROM REACTING TO RESPONDING TO OTHER PEOPLE
So what are the differences between responding and reacting to such really distressful people? Generally, a response is a intentionally thought through action that you have selected in dealing with people and their behavior towards you. When you respond to another person, you are taking your own time to cautiously and guardedly decide how you will deal with the behaviors of this person. When you do respond you are actually calmer and have a lot of control over you and your own behavior.
THE RISKS WHEN ONLY REACTING TO OTHERS
From the other viewpoint, when you react in seeking to deal with difficult people, it is a spontaneous, ad-lib, not well formed reaction and is acted upon with truly minimal consideration. Only reacting when dealing with difficult people at work almost all of the time results in you expressing something or conducting yourself in a way that you later on regret. It is oftentimes that you employ words or take on actions that afterward when you have calmed down and had time to think, you recognize that you would not have dealt with it all in that way.
CHANGING YOUR BEHAVIOR WITH OTHERS IN THE WORKPLACE
So how can you change from responding to people with difficult and annoying behavior instead of only reacting to those people? There are many ways you will be able to learn how to deal with difficult people. But here is just one method that will assist you in responding a great deal more effectively and reacting less when dealing with difficult people at work.
YOU NEED TO LEARN TO PAUSE, BREATHE, THINK AND THEN SPEAK
Therefore here is what you ought to aim to do. If you are interacting with a person that exhibits behavior that you feel is annoying, frustrating or exasperating then pause, breathe, think and then speak. Certainly, it does sound too simple. But it is a very effective way to begin to develop the ability to respond not react to such people with difficult behavior.
IT IS NOW TIME TO COUNT TO TEN IN DEALING WITH PEOPLE
You recognize the old saying about counting to ten. This is a terrific example of taking the time to respond rather than react. As you force yourself to count slowly to ten by pausing, breathing, thinking and then speaking you take more control over your thoughts, feelings and emotions. You are straightaway in control and not the other person. Now you are certainly moving in the right direction to responding instead of simply reacting to these people with difficult behaviors. So next time you interact with some other person whose behaviors you find very difficult in your workplace, focus your energy on slowing yourself down and responding rather than reacting in dealing with difficult people at work.
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© Dr Judy Esmond. This article may be shared with others on the understanding that it remains intact and credit is given to the author and included is the live the website link http://www.dealingwithdifficultpeople.com for this article on dealing with difficult people at work.
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