Dealing with difficult people and types of difficult people

 

figure1:work with difficult people

Dealing with difficult people

A difficult person is someone who often lack of empathy, compassion, and concern for others. They would simply say that they are callous. Difficult people tend to feel better than everyone else. This type of person seems aloof when you want to shake their hand. They even seem disgusted when approached, as if they have a contagious disease. Then when they converse with them, they talk down to you like you're inferior to them.

There are always few employees who are sincere, diligent and great workers, but there are some who work little, waste time and really create tension among other employees. Difficult situations in the workplace often arise for a variety of reasons, viz. Interpersonal relationships, selfish behavior, respect for one another, hierarchy, etc. Understanding this problem, why some people become difficult or more negative, and why their behavior creates tension between people and difficult situations has long been a time-consuming but hopeless exercise (Biradar & Devarkar, 2010).

According to (Sarma, 2022), difficult coworkers may take many different shapes. Consider someone who always talks but is never prepared to listen. Others have a bad criticizing streak and are dishonest with their own obligations. Once more, there are bullies, naysayers, demanding managers, gossipers, and poor team players with unforgiving employee behaviors. In addition to this, other typical actions of problematic individuals at work include.

·       Mobile phone addicts

·       Taking credit for other people's jobs

·       Double standard personalities

·       Shouting at others

·       Blaming others constantly

·       Showing off how deeply worried they are about work

·       Stealing ideas and thoughts and showing them as your own

When someone usually have a tendency to disregard coworkers who are causing problems once become aware of it. You attempt to comfort yourselves as the days go by remembering that relationships become better with time. The day will come when coming to work will make you miserable sooner or later. You'll experience both anger and pain. Your efforts will appear pointless if you choose not to confront your problems.

figure2:work place argument1;souurce(google.com)

 

How to Identify Difficult People?

According to (Biradar & Devarkar, 2010), a challenging individual might be a supervisor or a fellow employee. It might be difficult to pinpoint a person's pessimistic outlook on life or job.A few traits of tough people are listed below. Knowing these characters will make it simple to recognize the challenging individuals.

·       They are always tactful in handling situations

·       Their aggressive attitude promotes shouting and fighting acts.

·       As they are hot tempered, loosing balance while talking.

·       These are fault-finding in nature and always trying to criticize the things.

·       They believe in pretending, drama, and lying.

·       Negative attitude towards life. 

·       They try to manipulate you. 

·       Always crying and dying. 

·       Never straight forward but Sarcastic. 

·       Never accepting challenges.

·       Always in search of other’s shoulder to rest.

·       Don’t‟ want to leave comfort zone.

 

figure3:work place argument2;source(google.com)

 

How do you not let a difficult person affect you?

According to a proverb, as you change, other individuals gradually change. The correct strategy to assure that everything goes as expected is to concentrate on improving ourselves first. It's indeed challenging to engage in a dispute with only one person after all.

So, when confronting a difficult individual, the first thing to perform is to look inside. You may choose the best strategy to deal with their conduct by figuring out why you're influenced by them(Campbell, 2022).

• Be composure

Take a deep breath or many deep breaths if you see yourself becoming irritated with someone. Take your time talking to them. don't feel obligated to start straight away. Taking a step back, getting your bearings, and then continuing when you feel more composed is quite acceptable.

•  Build your own inner development

We become annoyed by others occasionally because they make us feel like ourselves. Their flaws will seem intolerable if we are already angry, whether it be at ourselves or because of our own issues.

•  Be mindful of your reactions.

What emotions are you evoked by this person's actions? Do you feel irritated, offended, or ignored? Being able to put words to your emotions aids in bringing you out of reactionary mode and into a state of curiosity, which is far more productive.

  

Difficult Personality Types and how to respond them accordingly

According to (Birt, 2020), an essential life skill is the ability to deal with challenging coworkers. Despite the fact that you may get along well with the majority of your coworkers, you should be able to manage those that are challenging. You can keep a more peaceful workplace atmosphere by learning conflict management skills. You might start focusing more on yourself and people you like as you learn to tolerate or address their behavior.

 

figure4:different personality types;source(google.com)

1.Aggressive types

(Desire to impose their point of view on you. They enjoy letting off steam. They could yell at you. Managing aggressive behavior entails,)

·       Take no offense in return(Kirkham , 2015).

·       Please make a clear request for them to cool off and express themselves.

·       Stay composed. To demonstrate that you paid attention and comprehended what was said, summarize the key points once they are through speaking. A calm reaction and the knowledge that they have been heard will frequently settle an aggressive personality. 

2.Know-it-alls’ types

(unyielding "experts" who disregard other people's opinions.)

·       Resist being intimidated or allowing them to run the meeting.

·       Work to keep them concentrated. These individuals frequently enjoy hearing themselves speak, and they frequently veer off topic.

·       Do pay attention to them and work to get knowledge from them.

3.Victim types

( Frequently gripe and believe they are being treated unjustly (Waters, 2022).)

·       prevent seeking to assume their protection.

·       Do request their suggestions for helpful improvements toward the circumstance

4.Sarcastic types

(Use obscene language, frequently upsetting social cohesion and fostering animosity. They might not be great teammates.)

·       Don't allow them to get away with their actions. Let them know that being sarcastic is not acceptable.

·       Give them praise when they speak positively or display teamwork.

5.Negative type

(Negative things to say concerning the opinions of others.)

·       Avoid seeking to reform them.

·       Do encourage them to suggest alternatives.

            When prompted to offer anything positive, they frequently withdraw.

6.Positive type

(Will acquiesce in anything in order to win favor.)

·       Prevent them from taking on more obligations than they can handle.

·       Accomplish make sure they carry out what they have promised to do.

7.Withdrawn types

(Seem to have nothing to offer and are challenging to engage)

·       Don't pressure them to reveal themselves.

·       Do pose open-ended inquiries that call for more than a simple affirmative or negative response.

·       Wait for their response patiently.

 

 

Winning Over Difficult People (Birt, 2020)

• Be direct, concise, and consistent

Assist in fostering frank and honest dialogue.Always be precise and reliable. Stay off-guard and use open-ended inquiries whenever you need information or clarification.

• Alter your strategy

Someone cannot be forced to change. You may alter your behavior, though, in a way that would encourage others to do the same.

Try a different strategy if one method of interaction and communication with the other person doesn't work. Avoid falling victim to the "buy a larger hammer" trap.

• Don't encourage unruly behavior

Don't let other people's terrible conduct influence your own behavior. Eye for eye will render you both blind.

Don't always make excuses for people or always solve their issues. Give them a chance to mature and advance.

•  Realize that certain issues are impossible to solve

Some people need to address problems that go beyond having good communication and conflict resolution skills. If you ever find yourself in this circumstance, think of methods to lessen it and make it better, even if it can't be addressed. If necessary, get assistance. 

 

 

figure5:Dealing with difficult people

Conclusion

The widespread inclination to place the blame for issues that we would never place the responsibility for ourselves can cause managers to believe that they are managing difficult personnel, and employees to believe that they are being led by difficult individuals. In the workplace, morality is crucial for both employers and employees. Both employers and workers may encounter challenging circumstances that they are unable to handle on their own and may require assistance from the human resources department. A manager would have the chance to try everything before firing an employee by learning new strategies for dealing with tough workers. rather of giving up on the issue, practice managing challenging personnel.

References

Biradar, S. R. & Devarkar, V. D., 2010. Handling Difficult People for Better Administration.. [Online]
Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215503680_Handling_Difficult_People_for_Better_Administration
[Accessed 09 11 2022].

Birt, J., 2020. 12 Ways to Deal With a Difficult Co-Worker. [Online]
Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/starting-new-job/how-to-deal-with-difficult-coworker
[Accessed 09 11 2022].

Campbell, A. C., 2022. How to deal with difficult people — without harming your mental health. [Online]
Available at: https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-difficult-people
[Accessed 09 11 2022].

Kirkham , A., 2015. Stay Sane: 5 Tips for Dealing with Difficult People. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.cetrain.isu.edu/blog/stay-sane-5-tips-for-dealing-with-difficult-people
[Accessed 09 11 2022].

Sarma, S., 2022. How To Handle Difficult People At Work?. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.vantagecircle.com/difficult-people-at-work/
[Accessed 09 10 2022].

Waters, S., 2022. How to deal with difficult coworkers and still be professional. [Online]
Available at: https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-difficult-coworkers
[Accessed 09 11 2022].