While some companies advertise their amazing, collegial, friendly workplaces, it’s fairly rare that everyone in an office becomes great friends—or even gets along well most of the time.
We don’t go to work to make friends, of course—we go to work to get a job done. Still, there’s a difference between maintaining a cordial distance from your colleagues and hating them.
The BBC recently discussed some tips for employees who hate their coworkers. Obviously, “hate” is a strong word, but that’s the term the BBC uses, so we’ll stick with it for this post.
Face the Problem
“If you don’t talk about it, it won’t get better by itself,” says the BBC. In other words, if someone is doing something that bothers you, address it with him or her. This needs to be done professionally and respectfully, of course.
Face Your Personal Narrative
Dislike between employees is a two-way street. You may dislike—or even hate—some of your coworkers, but what do people think about you? A little dose of introspection can help uncover behaviors of your own that others might find off-putting.
Get Their Perspective
This is somewhat related to the first tip. So much conflict can be avoided by discussing the issue and getting to the other side of it. Maybe you and this “hated” coworker have more in common than you think.
Don’t Let It Get Personal
Finally, don’t let workplace differences chill you to your core. Thick skin can go a long way to keeping annoyances from developing into seething hatred.
Unfortunately, we most likely won’t get along perfectly with everyone we work with, and that’s OK. We don’t have to. Work isn’t meant to be a social event. It’s work. But if animosity among employees becomes too pronounced, it can end up hurting productivity and morale.
Every workplace has a range of personalities—some that are like-minded and others that are not. At our upcoming Workforce L&D conference, we have a session scheduled on personality styles and personality styles training that will give you some key insights.
