If you're dealing with a toxic workplace, the office is probably swarmed with interesting characters. 🏢 You know, like Betty from accounts payable who's always asking when you're going to have kids. 🙄 Or Glenn from IT support who hasn't showered since 2005. OK, now we're really getting toxic. 🙊☢️
One of the worst villains in a toxic workplace is an insecure person. It sucks dealing with these tough cookies, but there are ways to make it through the day alive! 😅 We've got some tips and tricks to slither away from these peeps like a smooth criminal. 🐍
Here’s Five Fast Facts on how to handle an insecure person at work:
- 🆘 Red Flags - Experts say the three most common signs of a “highly insecure” person at work are: competing with others, seeking out constant approval from colleagues or bosses, and playing the victim.
- 🍏 Teacher's Pet - All three behaviors above are forms of external validation. Highly insecure people need this kind of interaction so they forget about how crappy they feel about themselves. A prime example? Someone who's super competitive with coworkers to grab the most important assignments so they'll always look like a shining star. The reality? Deep down they probably feel like the worst member of the team.
- 🤹 Delicate Balance - When you're dealing with an insecure coworker, you'll need equal parts empathy and patience with a heaping helping of clear boundaries. While you don't have to be their BFF, you'll need to keep the peace and maintain your sanity at the same time. Blowing up at these kinds of people often backfires.
- 🫖 No Tea for Me - Insecure coworkers tend to gossip a lot. If you find yourself trapped at the water cooler in a manager diss sesh, try not to participate. You can change the conversation by saying something like, "oh, I've never had a negative experience with (name), so I don't have much to say."
- ✌️ Peace Out - If an insecure employee becomes a distraction, limit your interactions with them. Don't be afraid to put your headphones on, even if you're not listening to anything (best trick of all time). If they won't leave your workspace, politely tell them you have to get to work. They should get the picture.
🔥Bottom line: Wouldn't it be nice if everyone we worked with was an absolute gem? Unfortunately, there will always be bad apples in the basket. It's all a matter of setting good boundaries and not playing bad apple games! Wondering why we stay in jobs we hate? We have an article for that.
How do you deal with tough coworkers?
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