How to deal with negative people at work

 We all have negative people around in our lives. And we often encounter them at the workplace, in our social lives and even in our families. These people are often too negative to deal with, but sometimes we do not have a choice to avoid them especially, at the workplace. You can easily deal with negative people in our social lives relatively easily (read also: how to deal with negative people) by simply cutting them off. But it is more challenging to deal with negative people at work as it requires more tact and diplomacy. So how to deal with negative people at work is the question?

 

Dealing with negative co-workers or negative bosses can be really challenging in real life as the workplace requires a lot of tact, diplomacy and professionalism. And there are a few potential ways to deal with toxic people (Read Also: Signs of Toxic People) at work that I use to navigate negativity in the context of work without raising unnecessary eyebrows. So here are a few ways to deal with toxic people at the workplace:

 

Limit your interaction with them

While the most obvious solution of cutting negative people off at the workplace might seem very easy, it is not sometimes possible to cut co-workers as you are working with them on a daily basis. So, a better and more workable alternative is to limit your interaction with negative co-workers and keep your interaction to a bare minimum. For example, if you are working on a project with them, just get your work done and talk only about work. The less you speak to them, the better it will be for your own workplace wellness. 

 

Do not try to change them

Many people try to change negative co-workers by dealing with them, but they forget that some negative people can be so negative and toxic that they can make you feel negative about yourself. Instead of focusing to change them, you focus on avoiding them for your own well-being. If you think your workplace has become too negative to hold, you can lookout for new opportunities like changing your team, project or job. This way you can avoid them and find your own peace and zen. 

 

Be an inspiration to them

Now if you really want to change the negative people around in your office, you can do so by being an inspiration to them. That means if you are a really strong personality, you can turn negative people into positive by being a strong positive influence on them. But if you are a weak-minded person (Read Also: Signs of a Weak-Minded Person), then this strategy can counterfire as you will end up feeling negative and terrible about yourself in presence of negative co-workers. So if you want to be an inspiration for them, be strong enough to lead the change. And one way to do so is to tell the negative people, that if you were in their place how would you have taken a more optimistic and positive approach to a particular problem at hand. And when you start saying it again and again you will start seeing the change in the negative co-worker. And voila here you go. You have made the person a little more positive and hence you do not have to worry about their negativity anymore. 

 

Motivate the negative co-worker to follow their dreams

Another way to deal with negative co-workers is to help them figure out their passion or dream, and help them figure out ways so that they can take steps to pursue those dreams. And when they find what they want they will move on and find a new job or workplace for themselves. And here you are again, you have successfully cleansed the workplace from a negative or toxic person and also helped the negative person in the process. Congratulations, you do not have to deal with them anymore. 

 

Befriend them and have them confide in you

Sometimes you can be friends with the negative co-workers to understand the source of their negativity. Make them feel that you stand for them and with them and that you care for them. Once they have confidence in you, they will share their frustrations in life. And once you understand the root cause of frustration, you can help overcome them or even help them monetarily or with some resources so that they become more positive. And, it is another way of dealing with negative co-workers. 

 

If you want to read a more detailed article and relevant resource on dealing with negative co-workers, you can read it here: How to deal with negative people at work?