SWORDS
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SWORDS
In a perfect world, we would all get on brilliantly with our colleagues and managers at work, but this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes personalities clash, or we find that other people work differently to us and it can disrupt our own working life. Don’t let difficult people ruin your work life; here’s how to deal with them:
If your manager says one thing today and another tomorrow, it can make you feel uneasy when it comes to taking action. Although the boss does have the right to change their mind, it’s important for them to acknowledge what they originally said as well.
To help with this, it’s advisable to keep some form of record of all decisions made. If you make an agreement face to face or over the phone, send them an email to confirm what has just been said. That way if they deny knowledge of the original agreement when changing their mind, you can give them a friendly reminder just to confirm they are happy for you to switch your focus.
Doing the odd job to help out the manager is a normal part of your working relationship, but if you feel it is being abused then you should feel able to say no. If they are piling on too much additional responsibility, you should voice your concerns by saying you don’t mind helping out on occasion, but it is now affecting your own workload.
Even in 2015, sexism is still being found to be alive and well in workplaces and people are still afraid to address it.
The best approach is to have an informal chat with the person who is being sexist before taking more serious formal action. Often a sexism situation can be resolved simply by letting the person know that what they are saying or doing is having an impact on you.
If you are looking to move on from your current position to something higher, then discuss it with your manager. Making them aware that you are interested in climbing the ladder will put you on their radar when the next promotion comes around. You can also find out what you need to do in order to prepare yourself for a higher position.
When you work as part of a larger team, sometimes you can feel like you are being overlooked by your manager. The best way to tackle this is to ask your boss for a one-to-one meeting on a regular basis, to discuss your achievements, goals, any challenges you are facing, etc.
If you are experiencing difficulties with your colleagues or management at work, it’s always best to try and take a non-confrontational route to diffusing the situation. Nine times out of ten, simply talking to the person about the issues they are causing can help to settle things; difficult people don’t always realise they are being difficult!
