What's Worse Than a Coworker Who Undermines You? But sometimes choosing not to let it get to you can be the easiest way to deal with it. Give examples that you have witnessed and avoid hearsay whenever possible. One of the signs of a bad coworker is a pattern of persistent undermining -- intentionally hindering a colleague's success, reputation, or relationships. Here's how to handle this tricky situation and regain your independence. Describe how this behavior undermines your authority, and the effect that it has on the rest of the team and the work that everyone is trying to accomplish. That is the evil genius of one who undermines: The situation can be tricky to identify and tough to deal with. Got a coworker who barks orders and delegates task to you—almost like they think they're your boss? But if it’s not… Speak up. The situation becomes significantly harder when you have to deal with people who have patronizing and negative attitudes. You've likely experienced it yourself. If a coworker is rude or otherwise disrespectful to you Frenemies can be more stressful than enemies. Negative behaviors from an employee are harmful not only to you, but also to the employee himself and the rest of your staff. Social undermining is frustrating to deal with, whether it’s with a friend, family, or coworker. So, how do you deal when you're met with Negative Nancy or Pessimistic Paul, ready with undermining and backhanded compliments? They critique your work. Give specific instruction on the sort of behavior you expect to see in the future. Whether it's at … If you’re like most managers, you probably want your employees to have a positive experience while on the job. You’re allowed to speak up if a coworker treats you poorly. They delegate responsibility. To accomplish this goal, you’ll need to deal with insubordination in a timely and effective manner. They come in every variety and no workplace is without them. If you've ever had a coworker actively interfere with your productivity, try to make you look bad, steal your ideas, or give you false information, you've been the victim of undermining. Social undermining is frustrating to deal with, whether it’s with a friend, family, or coworker. Posted Apr 29, 2013 SHARE TWEET EMAIL MORE SHARE SHARE WHATSAPP SHARE Bad colleagues can wreak . To accomplish this goal, you’ll need to deal with insubordination in a timely and effective manner. You may hear comments like, “Well, you did it, congratulations, I didn’t think you would, you usually miss deadlines.” They overstep the natural order of things and will ingratiate themselves with the boss to undermine you and directly affect decisions that are made about you. Once it’s apparently clear that a coworker is undermining you, it’s necessary to both confront him/her and HR immediately. 6 Responses to “Confronting a Co-Worker Who Undermines You” Jeannette December 6, 2014. A coworker in the workplace that actively undermines you and your other coworkers is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with correctly. If you’ve ever had a coworker actively interfere with ... “it takes more emotional energy and coping resources to deal … How to Help Your Boss See How a Coworker Is Undermining Others. What's Worse Than a Coworker Who Undermines You? There are three types of toxic coworkers—here's how to deal with them. Working closely alongside co-workers every day can sometimes be difficult no matter how professional you are. If a coworker is preventing you … If you don’t, this pattern will continue to the point where you appear completely inept. When they have a problem, instead of confronting you directly, they try to undermine you by leaving you out of the loop on important projects. How difficult a person is for you to deal with depends on your self-esteem, your self-confidence, and your professional courage at work. If you’re like most managers, you probably want your employees to have a positive experience while on the job. Anecdotes are most definitely the best way to explain any process or system, so here's my two cents on how to deal with difficult employees. Ever had a colleague who dismissed your expertise and didn’t seem to think you had the authority to do your job? A coworker makes you look bad so they can look good, or they conveniently forget to tell you something important. Difficult people do exist at work.