About Careers

Tips on how to cope with coworkers

May 29th, 2009

When working with a fellow coworker who has a terrible attitude about life and is always complaining, here are some suggestions for dealing with them. The first thing you should do is try to speak with them and get a grasp on their situation. What if they are complaining only because no one listens to them? Discuss the matter extensively and figure out what’s going on, and hopefully this will end the complaining. It is also a good idea to see if their complaint is a real one or not. If their issue is a real one, you should see if you can give them help and support.

The usual complaints consist of not feeling praised or appreciated by superiors, not being managed properly, having way too much work, being anxious about work, not having enough to do at work, or not getting paid enough.

However, do not let yourself become completely involved in their tale of woe. You are not their therapist, merely a caring friend. You can point them in the right direction, offer a few tips or give them some good self help books, but that should be the extent of your involvement. Make sure that you know what your limits are or else you will find yourself turning into your coworkers personal therapist. If your coworker is a somewhat reasonable individual, hopefully this approach will work. Sometimes people just need to complain and get it out of their system.

If, however, the coworker is really negative, annoying or crazy, this will not work and you will need to ask your coworker to back off, and tell them that you think they’re insane. Explain to them that you will not be a witness to their constant bickering and you are leaving this very moment. Suggest that they find something more fulfilling in their life so they can stop complaining.

Call your HR department or boss if nothing else works. You are not the one responsible for dealing with this situation. Try not to yell at or abuse your coworker, because this will lead to you being fired. If you still can’t stop the complaining, eventually you may lose your mind from this terrible atmosphere. If your employer can’t stop the problems, then you should leave. It will be emotionally healthier to transfer to a new environment. Consider this alternative if all else fails.

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