Some employees are hard to get along with, due to a number of factors, such as poor communication, gossiping, unhealthy competition, hostility, bullying, refusal to provide help, monotonous complaints, narcissism, and the know-it-all kind, and so forth.
It’s pretty common and rough to work with some of these employees, but considering you’re at the same job you could learn to work with them, regardless of their behavior.
A difficult employee could be someone who fails to conduct themselves in an accountable or proficient manner within the workplace. Alternatively, it could be someone whose behavior destructively sways and affects other employees, fashioning an antagonistic working environment and exhausting attention and productivity.
Some studies even show that difficult co-workers can lead employees to leave their companies.
Maureen Umuringa, a Human Resource (HR) expert says that sometimes people behave based on situations they encountered while growing up or how they are shaped by the people around them or environments.
For instance, arrogant employees could have picked the vice from their broken families, that is to say, if they ever watched their parents fight, or if they hang with contemptuous people.
She stresses that it’s a bit uncomfortable and disrespectful working with a colleague who doesn’t know how to appropriately address you.
However, she notes that explaining to such people how their arrogant responses affect you and requesting them to change can address the issue. In case they don’t reform, report the issue to HR.
Umuringa carries on that at times, one needs to discover the good traits in others, although people are complicated, it’s better to ignore certain behavior and just center on their good side. This is because we are all not perfect.
"If you feel like specific co-workers drain you emotionally or are always negative, limit the time you spend with them, and instead, get closer to people that uplift you. The more you limit your interactions with negative co-workers, the more you will feel better and happier at work. Sometimes workers become a burden, boring and toxic due to their colleagues,” she states.
Umuringa also stresses becoming aware of when to provide help or assistance. Some people may act a certain way due to mental health issues, problems like divorce, loss of a loved one, and so forth. ‘Instead of blaming them, how about understanding where they’re coming from and be there for them.’
She also points out that for people who take credit for others’ work, just to be appreciated by their bosses, one shouldn’t sit back and let someone else be credited for work they didn’t do.
For her, one should share their accomplishments with their immediate supervisors or bosses, so that they’re recognised for their efforts.
William Niyonzima, a business personnel in Kigali states that managers should be aware of the challenging situations affecting workers as some employees have quit their jobs because of continuous unsolved behaviors of certain co-workers.
According to him, any workplace should have conducts to follow, if they are broken and such employees are given chances to get better but in vain, they should be given suspensions or fired from the job.
He also notes that as a manager, be willing to understand the cause of certain behavior, knowing the reasons behind someone’s reaction whether work, relations with co-workers, personal issues, and so forth, assists you to help them resolve the issue.
Experts say that when dealing with an unmotivated employee, start by giving them the benefit of the doubt, for example, as a manager, inquire if the employees have too much or too little work, are bored and in need of new challenges, or if they have the necessary skills required for the role? If they are unskilled, maybe offer them training, if they are over piled with work, reduce some of it.