Conflict in the Workplace: What to Do When Faced with Co-worker Drama

Sometimes you run into a conflict with a co-worker that just cannot be fixed through playing nice. You have tried being the better person. You have tried to stay out of the drama. You have gone the "I need to be more focused on what I am doing, not what he/she is not doing," route. Still, it isn't enough. No matter how much you have tried to be diplomatic, that co-worker of yours is about to drive you batty. It isn't just that he/she are rude, or that he/she does not do his/her job, it is having negative effects on your work. This person is distracting and creates a hostile environment. This person may even be rude to your customers, clients, and other people you serve. At certain point, you have to take a stand. Workplace conflict is always a touch subject. There is a good way and a bad way to try and resolve conflict that has escalated to this point.

The first thing to do is try to create a paper trail. Just whining to your boss will probably not get you very far. That does not mean spend all your hours documenting each and everything that person does wrong. You do not want to neglect your job duties in pursuit of this. If you see something, just take note of it. In some cases, this will be quite easy. For example: You might be able to hear that this co-worker was on personal phone calls for the better part of the day. I'm not saying time each call and document the things covered, just be aware. If you see this person ignoring a customer or another co-worker because they are on a personal call, write it down. If they distract you from your job, what were they doing? What have you had to do or change to accommodate the disturbances?

Having concrete examples of this conflict and being able to show a pattern should help your cause. Just simply saying they are rude to customers may not get you far. However, if you have an example of when they were rude, and then went even further to complain about said customer (while the customer was still in earshot), you have a stronger case. Not to mention these examples can help you flesh out our argument. Okay, she is consistently very late when coming back from her lunch hour. That is annoying, but how is it affecting your job? How about when she is late you are the one who as to cover for her. If she isn't back on time, you are the one who has to tend to her customers. This takes you away from your job, and may even make your customers wait longer.

The next issue to face is how to present this information. You want to plead your case without sounding like whiney brat. Try to put together strong argument you can present in a professional way. Foot stamping and "It isn't fair!" are not the best methods! Look at your audience. Who is your supervisor and what is the best way to get him or her to listen. Try not to be overly negative. Yes, this person's behavior is a trigger for some negative consequences. Still you do not want to be all doom a gloom. You do not want to come across as some bully or as if you are picking on the person.

The final step is to deal with the fallout. The co-worker in question will most likely not be happy when they have his or her "talking to." Many times they do not see what they are doing is wrong. They may even pride themselves on their customer service skills or professional demeanor. They may be shocked and hurt that people see them in this negative light.

Dealing with on the job conflict is never fun. It can be painful and in some cases a great deal of work. Hopefully, it will all work out and make you place of employment a better place to be.