“A bad or corrupt person in a group, typically one whose behaviour is likely to have a detrimental influence on their associates.”Oxford Dictionary
What is a “difficult person”?
Typically, one employee in most organisations can be classified as a difficult person! Difficult people can be found across all industry sectors and any size organisation. However, there is an underlying problem if you have more than one difficult person in your organisation. The problem may not be related to the employee(s) but the organisation’s culture. The organisation’s culture would need to be fixed as a priority before any management of behavioural changes can be applied.
Is there a secret way to manage difficult people? First, we must define what a difficult person in the workplace is. Let’s look at a few of the types of traits that classify (but are not limited to) a difficult person:
- a person who stays up to date with the office gossip
- the quiet employee who appears to be distant or withdrawn
- an employee who is stressed out
- an employee who has to be in control and is known as the “Control Freak”
- an employee who is paranoid
- an employee who never accepts responsibility or admits to their errors. These employees are known as blame shifters
- an arrogant employee
- a backstabbing employee who enjoys telling on a colleague or takes credit for work they have not undertaken.
If you have an employee who fits into one of the categories listed above, you will need to deal with them before the rot spreads throughout your organisation.Dealing with difficult people is not easy and can be challengingdepending on the type of difficult person and the situation you face. You may know of the “rotten apple” idiom whereby:
A “rotten apple” employee can cause much disruption throughout your organisation,similar to a computer virus spreading through your computer network. This type of employee is disruptive and causes chaos throughout an organisation.
Solutions available for managing “difficult people”
Many solutions can be applied to managing difficult people in your organisation and do work, depending upon how ingrained the traits are within the person. A conflictoften occurs when someone criticises the person; therefore, it is crucialto avoid confrontation when dealing with difficult employees. The most suitable solution to avoiding confrontation is to criticise the behaviour and not the employee.
The below table highlights some of the solutions you can implement in your organisation.
Trait | Solution |
Gossip | · do not give out information that can be spread around the organisation · stay clear of the employee |
Quiet employee | · be friendly · give them space to open up |
Stressed out employee | · don’t overwhelm them · break down the work into manageable steps |
Control Freak | · give them clear, detailed reports and updates on projects · avoid ambiguity, so they donot want to gain greater control · do not give them attention |
Paranoid employee | · be careful with the words spoken · keep employees up to date with what’shappeningin the office to reassure them nothing is being kept from them |
Blame shifters | · discuss the detailsof the project · determine responsibilities · determine deliverables required |
Arrogant employee | · praise them when they deserve praise · offer positive feedback before criticism |
Backstabbing employee | · confront issues with them face to face |
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