5 Ways to Deal With Difficult People at Work l How to Deal With Difficult Co-Workers

You can't pick your family or the people that you work with. Over 70 percent of Americans are stressed about their jobs and the stress from dealing with other employees. "It’s quite normal to be stressed about certain aspects of your job,” said author Davis K. Brimberg, a Los Angeles psychologist shared. Job stress is inevitable, and the key to handling this anxiety is to manage it, not obsess over it. "Learning time management skills, defining your job responsibilities and setting boundaries with co-workers or bosses can go a long way to creating a healthier work environment," he added. Even if circumstances at work are ideal, dealing with all different personalities will cause issues. It may seem impossible, at times mentally exhausting and there may be periods of your day when you wish that you could move to another country. But everyone at some point in their career must deal with dysfunctional people. There is an endless list of negative ways that you could handle the situation, the positive ways are the most constructive, however. Here are 5 ways to deal with difficult people at work.

Remain Level Headed

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You don't have to be besties with your co-workers or your boss. However, if you want to keep your job and keep your respect, you need to be professional the best way that you can. You add more gas to the flame when you are confrontational and retaliate. Do not make anything more dramatic than it needs to be by being reactive as it will make things worse for you and others. The best way to deal with toxic coworkers is to hold them responsible. Fast Company recommended: "Avoid justifying their behavior and stop taking personal responsibility for their actions. Chances are, they do enough of this themselves." When you look at it this way, it will help you keep your cool. Also, by doing this, you are the better person.

Pick Your Battles

No matter where you are in life, you need to pick your battles. When a debate comes into play, choose your battles wisely and do not allow yourself to become weighed down. "Focusing on the negative aspects of a toxic coworker’s behavior when confronting them is unlikely to result in change, and will only serve to exacerbate tensions," Fast Company added about the risks of engaging in disputes with people at work. You can go for a walk or just excuse yourself from the conversation. You have a choice to interlace with them and the situation or be free from any fight that is draining. Keep your communications with challenging people to a minimum. Why? You need to keep yourself from going over the edge in an effort to preserve your sanity.

Don't Overract

It's easy to overreact and assume someone else's actions are a personal attack. Try not to over analyze and don't get upset over actions that may have absolutely no real significance. But sometimes you need to confront people. Confronting a co-worker is never easy but it's often needed to stick up for yourself and for others if needed. "Whether the confrontation is about sharing credit for work accomplished, coworker habits and approaches that are irritating or sloppy, or about keeping a project on track, sometimes you need to confront your coworker," the Balance reported. Try to refrain from getting into gossip if something is really bothering you. Stay out of arguments or debates that would cause an adverse impact on your work. On the flip side of things, the people that you are dealing with might not even realize how their behavior is impacting you.

Take a Break

If you are bottling up your anger inside and feel like you are going to disrupt in flames, leave. If you have to take time off, do it because it is not worth the stress. With 80 percent of workers feeling stressed out on the job and 25 percent of people claiming that their work is the reason for their stress, dealing with a pain in the neck co-worker or management intensifies it. Focus your energy on the positive people in your life and how they affect your being. When challenging people partake in nastiness and emotions, be the bigger person and find a way to make the best out of the situation. But if you can't think clearly and you are burned out, take personal time off to gain a better perspective on things. Learn to set limits and put the breaks on when you can't cope anymore.

Keep Your Power

When you find yourself getting depressed over something done to you, make a decision to keep your power. Choose to be happy by building healthy thought patterns. This will take some time to develop, but to be happy you need to release self-defeating thoughts and trash them for productive thoughts. For example, do the catch and release. Meaning, if you catch the negative, quickly forgive to let it out of your life and release it. This doesn’t mean forgetting, it means releasing the person out from judgment and enjoying a resentment-free life. Avoid absorbing other people's negativity so you can keep your power. Knowing that you have the power to sustain yourself when you are dealing with difficult people will give you some solace.