In office you will meet all sorts of people. Some you will connect with instantly, others will just acknowledge your presence, while a few will drive you up the wall. While it is hard to not let your feelings run away with you when someone is constantly pushing all your buttons, you should not let those feelings overcome you. So, here are a few career development advice to help you deal with the colleagues you don’t really like.
Approach things practically
How you feel about someone should not creep into your office space. Be practical about things and remember that they are your colleague. While you do not have to extend a hand of friendship, you can be civil towards them and not bring any hostility into the conversation.
Always keep in mind that you come to office to work and not to bother about what other people think or do or what their hobbies and likes and dislikes are.
Be courteous, at all times
The higher way to approach the situation would be to be courteous at any given point in time. Someone can only push you as much as you would let them, and reverting back in kind or being impolite will open new floodgates.
You can keep conversation to a minimum and only connect with the certain colleague when the job demands it and you will be fine.
Let the project come first
However, what if the person you dislike is in the same team as yours? What if you are working together on the same project? It will be hard to not talk to them in such a case. However, keep your focus on the project in hand. The project is not just a representative of who they are but also of what you are and how sincerely you take your work. You cannot let personal differences come between your work and the best way to avoid conflict would be to keep the project and the person you don’t like aside.
Don’t badmouth them
Your dislike for someone is purely your own business and you don’t have to repeat an episode of Mean Girls in office and badmouth the person. This will reflect poorly on your character and further sour things between you. Letting your friends or boss get wind of how you feel will only lead to maybe more teasing and a boom in how you two already feel about each other.
Request a change
If you cannot find any alternative and nothing seems to work for you, then ask for a team change. Shift to a team where you would have to rarely if ever connect with that person. However, be careful and subtle about the words you choose. How you present things can have an adverse effect on your career development. So, be careful with your words and ask for a change politely instead of saying things which might take an ugly turn.
Follow these career development tips to work around colleagues that make the work-life a not-so-pleasurable experience for you and enjoy the job at hand.
