Article Critique: Dealing with Annoying Co-Workers
This article by Green (2011) suggested tactics for dealing with co-worker types that probably most of us have encountered at one time or another. The term “co-worker” suggests an office or industrial environment, but it’s a safe bet that the characters portrayed by Green could be an irritation in any environment where people congregate: in school, college, clubs, on sports teams, etc. You name it, they’ll be there somewhere! Perhaps a thought that should come to mind when reading such an article is: “Am I one of those types!?” It’s a natural human instinct to believe that such faults are characteristics only of other people, but a spot of self-analysis maybe wouldn’t go amiss(?)
Green discussed what she referred to as “the six most common types” although there are a few more that could be characterized at the very least as “annoying.” Kucheriavy (2010) suggested a few more – see later.
Although her annoying types are quite well portrayed, and her suggested methods of dealing with them are OK as far as they go, some of those annoying people deserve harsher treatment than Green recommends. For example, the persistent interrupter may be too thick-skinned (or stupid!) to take the hint when offered the face-saving exit cues proposed by Green. In such cases a much more direct approach may be the only way. A remark such as “Don’t you have work to do?” is fairly unmistakable as a “go-away” hint.
Similarly, with the know-it-all character, subtle hints are probably unlikely to get the message across. A more effective way might be to engineer that person’s input on a subject you’ve thoroughly researched beforehand, then – in front of other co-workers (and that’s important) – shoot him down in flames. Tell him just how wrong he is, and why. And don’t pull any punches. He may think twice about airing his “expert views” next time.
Green’s recommendations for dealing with the various annoyances were generally OK if you favour what could be called “offering the olive branch” i.e. with keeping the peace as the prime objective. Unfortunately, as mentioned above regarding the interrupter, stronger responses are often the only ones that will be effective.
In his article “Top 10 Most Annoying Coworker Types & How to Deal with Them” Kucheriavy (March 2010) listed some other traits that are probably extremely irritating to those around them. Characters he described like “the obnoxious one”, “the sloppy eater”, “the prankster”, “the stinky”, “the broken clock” (perpetually late for everything) are all regrettably familiar, and make our time in any shared environment just that bit more unpleasant.
There was one guy very definitely in the “sloppy eater” category. Every day without fail he would produce this large Tupperware container, filled with a very wet salad that seemed to be a mass of chopped salad stuffs, swamped in mayonnaise and something else that also qualified him to be a member of the “stinky” club. Everyone knew when it was his lunchtime without looking – both sounds and smells were enough.
My particular “bête-noire” was a guy whose name was similar to “Maggots” which at the timed seemed particularly apt. He was senior to me in the organization and had a really nasty habit of giving me usually unwarranted “dressings-down” at every opportunity, but in a deadly whisper – just loud enough for me to hear – but out of earshot of others nearby. The situation while it lasted simply had to be endured. However, in due course our roles were reversed. Following my elevation to team leader he was required to apply directly to me for a position on my team. Revenge was so sweet! Were the original situation to be repeated, perhaps the best advice – adopting Green’s method – would have been to say “Please speak up; I can hardly hear you when you’re whispering like that!”
References
Green, Alison. “How to Deal With Annoying Co-Workers.” (June 2011). U.S.News. Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/06/06/how-to-deal-with-annoying-co-workers
Kucheriavy, Andrew. “Top 10 Most Annoying Coworker Types & How to Deal with Them.” (March 2010). Resumark News. Retrieved from http://www.resumark.com/blog/andrew/top-10-most-annoying-coworker-types-how-to-deal-with-them/
