How to Deal With Distracting Coworkers

In every office, there's always that one person everybody does not like. He/she is that person who does very distracting things (whether by accident or on purpose) and/or has weird (and annoying) habits or mannerisms. This person is also so distracting that you are unable to properly focus on your job.

You have to do something about it, otherwise your performance at work will suffer. Thus, here are ways to properly deal with such coworkers:

Ignore the person's distracting behavior

Whether or not your coworker is trying to annoy you or distract you on purpose, just try to ignore them. Their annoying and distracting behavior is not worth getting worked up over. You're the mature one in the situation so it's best to take the high road.

Recognize what is distracting and what is just plain weird

Know which of your coworker's actions are keeping you from working properly and which ones you find just annoyingly weird. Ignore the weirdness because there's nothing you can do about it. Narrowing them down gives you a sense of control.

If you don't discriminate between weirdness and distracting behavior, you will end up disliking more and more of him/her until finally, everything about him/her annoys you.

Be calm

When your coworker is distracting you again with his/her behavior and is affecting your performance at work, be calm from the inside, not just on the surface. If you don't control your feelings you will explode and thus make matters worse. Your distracting coworker will try even harder to annoy you in retaliation. If you go off on him/her, that person will surely launch a counter attack, and eventually create a vicious cycle.

Again, remember that you are the mature one here. Respond to his/her immaturity with reason. If he/she goes off on you, respond calmly. Try to forget that he/she is the person you so don't like. It can wear out your patience but do not give up.

After some time (may be a long time), he/she will give up, seeing that he/she can't ruffle your feathers. Without this motivation, he/she will become less annoying towards you, distracting you less and less.