How to deal with annoying co-workers

We’ve all been there.  No matter what you do and no matter where you work, there will always be at least one co-worker who really, really gets on your nerves.

Whether they’re constantly having loud phone calls, interrupting you during meetings or simply don’t pull their weight, the annoying colleague can make the office unbearable at times.

Making the choice to address this with your colleagues is a difficult one. Everyone has little annoyances; this is just another natural part of working life. However, if it is impacting on your work, then you will need to bring it up.   Here’s how to deal with annoying co-workers.

Be polite

It can be difficult to keep things civilised when someone gets on your nerves, but it pays to stay polite.  Your annoying co-worker probably lacks the self-awareness to know that they’re annoying, so a sudden explosion of anger on your part will probably surprise them but won’t get them to mend their ways.

If you’re condescending, make snide remarks or are just downright rude, they’re less likely to co-operate with your request.  Keep things polite and assume they’re not deliberately trying to wind you up.

Be clear

You need to set out exactly what it is they’re doing which annoys you, so they know which behaviours they need to curb.  Is it something they say or do too often?  Is it a habit they can change, or is it beyond their control?  Before you speak to your annoying colleague, be clear in your own mind exactly what it is which gets you so annoyed.  There’s no point tiptoeing around the problem because unless you set out the issue in plain terms, they aren’t going to address it.

Put the problem in context 

Once you’ve established what the annoying trait is, you need to give them some sort of context so they can understand where you’re coming from.  When and where are they carrying out the annoying habit?  By giving them some idea of why their behaviour distracts, annoys or insults you, they will know when they need to keep themselves in check in future.

It may need to go further

Once you’ve had ‘the conversation’, be prepared that it might not be the end to it.  They might make no effort to correct their behaviour whatsoever, or they may keep it in check for the first few days before reverting to bad habits.

There are polite ways to frame the gentle pointers – ‘Your ideas are always great, but remember that we don’t need to shout over each other during meetings’ or ‘Thanks for your efforts in toning down the volume of your phone calls, but they’re still a little too loud and it’s distracting me from my work’.  You may have to drop hint after hint before you see any results.

If the problem is too severe, you might have to take the conversation further, to your Manager, Supervisor or HR department.  In the end you may have to accept that they’re incapable of change and you’ll just have to learn to live with it.  It’s always worth trying to have a conversation with the annoying colleague, but a lack of self-awareness is rarely a problem which can be fixed overnight.

Lizzie Exton writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships. To browse our graduate jobs London listings, visit our website.