The Talker. The Over-Sharer. The Drama Queen. Dealing with Different Personalities in the Workplace
The workplace is full of different types of personalities, some easier to get along with than others. If you work with someone who has a disagreeable personality, here is a short list of some common problem personality types and how to deal with them.
The office gossip.
Often there might be more than one in your office. They love to talk about other people and spread rumors. There are a number of reasons people like to do this. Someone might gossip about the peccadilloes of someone else because the gossiper feels insecure about themselves. Or a person may gossip about other people to divert attention away from themselves and their faults or poor performance. Or the gossiper might simply be trying to make friends and thinks this is the way to do it.
How should you respond to such a person? Tell them it’s not nice to gossip; however, that may not do much to curtail their behavior. There is not a lot you can do in this situation other than refrain from participating in the gossip yourself and not sharing any personal information with the gossiper that could become grist for their mill.
The drama king or queen.
These are people who are very emotional; they wear their hearts on their sleeves. It does not take much to set them off with their very public and very overwrought displays of emotion. Psychologists say that this excessive emotion, attention-seeking behavior and exaggeration are used by people as way to form relationships with others, however tenuous.
To deal with this type of person, let them know how their behavior is affecting you and how it makes you feel. It is important for you to stay calm and try to calm them down as much as possible.
The office know-it-all.
This personality is generally a very narcissistic one. The person has a very high opinion of themself, is arrogant, has a feeling of entitlement, and no empathy for others. They generally believes their work is much better than it actually is.
In dealing with this person, it might benefit you to play into their ego a little by offering them praise or flattery. That might help you win their cooperation and support. Research has shown that this type of personality responds to praise and social approval. For any task, show them what’s in it for them since this type of personality often is driven mostly by self-interest.
Also, realize what you can realistically expect from a person with this type of personality, and don’t demand things from them that they are unlikely to enjoy doing.
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