Friendly, upbeat, helpful co-workers can ease the burden of difficult, stressful projects. But what can you do about chronically cranky co-workers who make you wish for a snow day or a hurricane? Joe is one of these toxic bullies. He’s the scourge of his office. It’s hard to tell if he’s unaware of his co-workers’ dismay when they see him or if he enjoys inflicting pain and abuse, and getting his way because they’re afraid of him. He’s always negative, always angry, always complaining. He rants about “stupid” co-workers who’ve offended him. He vents about the “idiots” who run the company and the country. In any season, the weather’s always rotten. He “bah, humbugs” any warmth offered him. He’ll never be satisfied.
To read the rest of this article from the Orlando Business Journal, see: Don’t let continually cranky co-workers ruin your day
Faced with a chronically cranky co-worker, most people try to minimize the pain by:
- Avoiding them. We tip-toe around or duck and hide when we sense the first signs that a Cranky Joe is around.
- Ignoring them. We hope they’ll stop because they aren’t getting the attention or control they crave.
- Begging, bribing and appeasing them. We’re sweet, nice and accommodating. We bring them baked goods in hopes they’ll like us and stop acting like spoiled brats.
- Crying to release our hurt and frustration.
- Making psychoanalytical excuses for them so we can rise above their level – anything to avoid confronting them.
Unfortunately, these tactics rarely work. However, there are many tactics you can use to eliminate the high cost of his bullying and low attitudes.
I avoid in-depth psychoanalysis of continually cranky co-workers. I assume they know the carnage they cause around them. For them, education is rarely the answer. The answer is simply stopping them.
Of course, it’s much harder to deal with a cranky boss. Or to look in the mirror and realize that people run for cover when you come over to vent.
All tactics are situational. Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.