Bad behaviors in the workplace decrease productivity, hurt morale and may cost the company business. Whether you’re dealing with a minor problem, such as chronic lateness, or something major, like falsifying financial reports, prompt attention to the issue is key. Establishing a standard for behavior sets the expectations for employees and co-workers to follow. When someone ignores the standards, following a strict discipline procedure helps to correct the situation (Frost, 2018).
You can vastly improve your own work environment and morale when you increase your ability to deal with the people at work. You also make your workplace a better environment for all employees when you address the problems that a difficult coworker is causing for the team (Heathfield, 2018). Mind Tools (2018) gives a case study of bad behavior at workplace thus: “Ian’s an engineer in the aerospace industry. He’s exceptionally knowledgeable, and puts in long hours working on his projects. But his manner with his colleagues is curt, to say the least. For several years this hasn’t overly upset other members of his team – an easy-going bunch who’ve just accepted his lack of people skills. They’ve generally shrugged off Ian’s comments, saying things like “Ah, that’s just Ian, don’t mind him.”
“However, in the past year, a couple of team members have moved on. One of their replacements has now been off sick with stress for six weeks, and he’s citing Ian’s frequent unpleasant comments as the cause. As a result, the team is behind on an important project. A year ago, Ian was making a valuable contribution to the team, but now he’s the cause of various problems. Yet, he’s not actually doing anything different.”
From the above example, it is apt for me to note that Dealing with difficult people is easier when the person is just generally obnoxious or when the behavior affects more than one person. You can team together to address the behavior or inform management to get help addressing the employee issue before it spirals into negativity (Heathfield, 2018).
Perhaps, one of the most difficult set of people to work with is a bully. How do you know you are dealing with one? You do if you regularly feel intimidated, dread to work anywhere near a particular co-worker and feel dismayed and upset about having to go to work. If you are yelled at, insulted, and put down, you work with a bully. If you have felt psychologically or physically threatened at work, you work with a bully (Heathfield, 2018).
One of the fundamental ways to managing a bad behavior at work is to relate well with everybody. ou can ruin both your job and your career by the relationships you develop with your coworkers at work. Your education, experience, or titles don’t matter if you can’t play well with your coworkers. You won’t succeed in your career without forming positive relationships at work. Effective relationships with the boss and co-workers, create success and satisfaction on the job (Heathfield, 2018).
Don’t react in anger. Express your feelings in a clear and non-threatening way. Creating an open, receptive environment reduces the chances of escalating the conflict (Proactive Resolutions, 2018). However, the problem of many people is that, they don’t know how to resolve conflict amicably. Let me put you through by starting from difficult bosses. Nothing is more destructive in the workplace than difficult bosses. Every employee has bosses who provide direction throughout their working careers. Hopefully, most of your bosses are competent, kind, and worthy of your trust and respect. They play such a significant role with the employees who report to them. Bosses can make or break an employee’s day. Too often, employees have difficult bosses who have a negative impact on their desire to engage and contribute in the workplace. The best way to manage this scenario is to build a cohesive team with your co-workers. Ensure you are well-known and liked among the people the company regards as superstars, allies who have power and will speak up for you. In fact, you can achieve job security if you are viewed as a superstar by your organization. Building alliances at work is smart, effective behavior when you want to develop positive coworker relationships. The alliances are crucial, also, for dealing with difficult or destructive co-worker behavior in the workplace (Heathfield, 2018).
Also, you can also walk up to the affected person and speak with them.Ask what they were thinking at the time of the offending action and how the situation makes them feel. Aim for direct answers. Get clarification if needed. Understanding their point of view is the best way to learn how to work with them (Proactive Resolutions, 2018). The fact is that, most times, you have to overlook your fears and make the confrontations. Confronting a co-worker is never easy but it’s often needed if you stick up for your rights at work. Whether the confrontation is about sharing credit for work accomplished, coworker habits and approaches that are irritating or sloppy, intentional missed customer delivery deadlines, or about keeping a project on track, sometimes you need to confront your coworker. Although confrontation should not be your first step, you can become better and more comfortable with necessary conflict. These tips will help you feel more comfortable when you need to confront a coworker (Heathfield, 2018).
For authorities in the company to guide against bad behavior, you should create a thorough employee handbook that includes policies on behavioral expectations and consequences for breaking those policies. Policy topics often include punctuality, attendance, using time off, safety procedures, employee theft, dress code and behavioral guidelines for interacting with colleagues and clients. Require all employees to review the policies and sign an acknowledgement form. Provide the employees with copies of updates made to the policies as necessary (Frost, 2018).
Furthermore, send out a memo or email message to all staff members if you notice a particular bad behavior in several employees. For example, if punctuality becomes a problem with many employees coming in late, send a memo addressing the issue that references the company’s punctuality policy (Frost, 2018).
References
Heathfield, S (2018). 10 Tips for Dealing with Diffcult People at Work. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/dealing-with-difficult-people-at-work-1917903
Proactive Resolutions (2018). 6 Ways to Deal with Workplace Negative Behavior. Retrieved from https://proactive-resolutions.com/article/6-ways-to-deal-with-workplace-negative-behavior/
Frost, S (2018). How to Deal with Bad Behavior in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/deal-bad-behavior-workplace-12304.html
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