Who Are You Today?
Dealing With The Coworker With Multiple Personalities & Moods
You never know what you’re going to get with this coworker because they’re so unpredictable. Who’s going to show up to work today? Will it be irritated Heather? Friendly Heather? Rude Heather? Condescending Heather? Don’t talk to me today I’m only communicating through emails and IMs Heather?
Granted, we know how to deal with different personalities. There’s the silly coworker, the always late coworker, the always complaining coworker, the coworker that gives us the unnecessary fashion show that no one asked for. We know how to deal with Type A & B personalities from individuals. However we’re a little mystified, perplexed, and caught off guard when we’re dealing with multiple personalities from ONE PERSON.
Coping With The Moody Coworker
Your coworker may be unbalanced, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. Once you recognize the behavior your coworker is exhibiting try the following tips:
Breathe. Do not allow your coworkers attitude to affect what you’re working on. Hot headed Barry is in his feelings. Barry has a problem not you.
Ignore. When Angela is late and she hasn’t met her deadline ignore her. You know that she’s agitated. Let her settle into the office. If you need to ask her something or tell her something urgent politely say excuse me and then tell her the issue, otherwise ignore her. I usually send an email or IM.
Take A Break. Sometimes you just have to step away from this coworker. Go outside for some fresh air. Walk to the break room. Visit the wellness room and do some stretches. Removing yourself is a reminder to yourself that you have control.
Confront. Sometimes breathing, ignoring, and taking a break isn’t enough. Work needs to be done. Interaction can not be avoided. Clearly this person needs to put their mood in check so that the team can work productively. Pointing out the obvious isn’t necessary (I can see that you’re in a mood Greg, but we really need to discuss the Clemons account, X project). You don’t want to go that route. Stick to a more practical, direct approach, (Hey Greg, we need to close out the Clemons account ASAP. Set a time for us to discuss).
Remember as long as you’re consistent and reliable your day will flow with ease. Do not entertain and fall into the trap of your coworkers moods. If their behavior is affecting you and your team in a negative way you have options. That’s right you have options. I’m a strong believer of the pulling the person to the side and having a conversation. No finger pointing, no raising the voices, but a short talk talk: This is work. We have a job. We have deadlines. Let’s complete our tasks.
If you continually have problems with this coworker you can talk to your supervisor or manager. I know, I know…what if it’s the supervisor or manager with the constant mood swings. In both cases you simply have to play your position. You know your role. Documentation is important. Email/IM are documented interactions. When all else fails you may need to reach out to Human Resources.
The bottom line is this, no one has time for an infantile coworker or boss. Do all that is expected of you and keep it moving. You have a check that needs to be cashed. I don’t know about you, but no one is going to disrupt that.
