Getting Along With Coworkers

If you are new at your job, an obnoxious coworker can make you want to leave the post you had just recently got.

Obnoxious coworkers can be intimidating, making you feel like you are not up to the task or that you know very little about your new job and the industry you are in. Worse, these obnoxious officemates can be quite annoying and distracting, keeping you from performing optimally. Your option now is either to scram or - as impossible as it may seem - learn deal with him/her. Here's how to do just that.

Depersonalize

Understand that your obnoxious coworker may be dealing with his/her own personal issues. Issues that have nothing to do with you. Once you've learned to accept that, you won't take his/her behavior personally anymore, and react less strongly to his/her obnoxiousness.

Be positive

Answer your coworker's negative vibes with positive behavior. Nothing good will come out of it if you answer negatively. Positivity goes a long way. Respond to your coworker's obnoxious behavior with positive words - or smile at the very least.

Boundaries

Before things get any worse, put a stop to it at once. Calmly and politely tell your obnoxious coworker where your boundaries lie the very first time he/she tries to intimidate you or take over your space.

Distract yourself

To help get your mind off your obnoxious officemate, tune in to office gossip. Be careful not to over-share though, and to not get into it too deeply. Office gossip can be quite unhealthy if you get too much into it. It can be hazardous to your job, too. Remember that your goal is only to distract yourself.

Be confident

Despite the fact that you are new and are still coping with your new job and your obnoxious fellow employee, learn how to carry yourself with confidence. However, you must be able to distinguish between confidence and arrogance. You don't want to turn into to that person you are trying to deal with.

Tell him off

If all else fails, tell him/her off. If you have exhausted all your options and being nice does not work, then be direct. Tell your obnoxious coworker - without sugarcoating - that you won't take flack any longer.