Great Pals at Work

Do you discuss personal matters with your co-workers? It's kind of hard not to. Keep yourself at a comfortable distance from your colleagues and enjoy spending all the eight hours in a day, five-six days a week.

Enjoy the Camaraderie

However, it takes much efforts to work cordially in a workplace where colleagues share long hours With you. The workplace, like any other place brings a bunch of people together. It is a jumble of many different personalities. In addition to the co-workers who are easy to work with, you will also find difficult people at work. What sets the workplace apart from many other places is that everyone - even the difficult people must cooperate in order to be productive.

Here are three types of difficult people you may meet at work and advice for getting along with each one.

The chatterbox

Let's start with the most affable co-worker. The chatterbox usually means well. She is friendly and wants to share all her thoughts (every last one of them) with you. She isn't trying to cause harm to anyone and her incessant talking is just keeping you from concentrating on your work. Here are some things you can do to quiet down your chattering co-worker.

Rather than risk insulting your colleague, put the blame on yourself. Tell your co-worker that you have trouble concentrating while you are listening to her very engaging stories. You'd love to hear them at some other time, just not while you're at work.

The complainer

There's always one person in a group who can never find anything about which to be happy. If he/she's not complaining about his/her health or family, they're complaining about their job, the organisation, or the boss. Of course, some of their complaints may be legitimate, but the incessant whining is getting on your nerves. Generally, the complainer isn't looking for advice so offering it probably won't do any good. Change the subject whenever the cribbing begins, your colleague will definitely get the hint.

The delegator

In almost every workplace you'll find someone who wants to share his/her work with his/her colleagues. Not the ones who have a legitimate reason to delegate work to others, for example, managers or team leaders. We are speaking of those who either can't do all the work they have been given or don't want to do it. If team work is encouraged in your office and you have time to help your colleagues, you should.

However, if managers are the only ones who have the authority to delegate and you already have your hands full, then you have to turn down the request. So, go ahead and choose your friends at work carefully.