Ways to handle unfriendly colleagues
The office dynamic with colleagues can be a prosperous one or one of hostility. Unfriendly colleagues can be difficult to deal with sometimes. Work is so named for a reason and having to add unfriendly and difficult colleagues to your workday is no one's idea of fun. Cold, distant and/or rude people are not easy to work around or with but it can be done.
One of the worst things you can can do, when interacting with an unfriendly colleague, is to respond rudely. All you are going to accomplish by being rude is continued hostility and higher stress levels. It is important to learn how tomanageprofessional relationships with all colleagues, even the unfriendly ones.
Check attitude
One of the first things you should do is leave your own bad attitude at the door when you get to work each day. Tripping over the dog, lousy traffic and lack of caffeine are all bad things, but no reason to take it out on colleagues. When you are already having a bad day, it is easier to feel like others are being rude and/or unfriendly towards you.
The point is sometimes colleagues are responding to the attitude you are giving them. You see that they are being unfriendly, but may not notice that you are too. A good habit to get into is checking your own negative thoughts and feelings at the door before you begin work. It is not always easy to push things out of your mind, but work is not the place for personal issues.
Polite and firm
It is not easy to work with people who are unfriendly. Instead of wasting time trying to get them to like you, be polite but firm with work-related issues. Do not let their surly demeanor intimidate you. Some people like to intimidate others around them and that is not acceptable in the workplace.
Always be polite when speaking or interacting with unfriendly colleagues. By returning their behavior, you will only cause more problems. On the same side of the coin, be firm when speaking with them, this way they know you are serious about the project at hand.
Avoid confrontations when possible
It is a fact that unfriendly people can become rather irritating and even a little scary. With this in mind, it is best to avoid confrontations if possible. Do not challenge their behavior in a mean or threatening way. This would only add more hostility to the situation.
The other fact to consider is that the unfriendly colleague(s) could be going through tough times. You cannot be sure of what other people have going on outside of the workplace. Try not to simply assume that colleagues are unfriendly because they are mean people.
Do your job
One of the best things you can do is to focus on your own job tasks. You may have problems working with the unfriendly colleague, but you can still perform your own duties to the best of your abilities. The simple truth is you cannot control how other people act, but do not let that get in the way of your job performance.
As long as your unfriendly colleague is getting his/her work done, it really doesn't matter about attitude. In the end, you are there to do your job, not make friends with every colleague. You may discover that the unfriendly colleague is all about the job and just wants to focus on it and not on friendships.
Contact Human Resources Department
This should be a last resort when it comes to unfriendly colleagues. Some people are just not friendly and that in itself is nothing to complain about to your boss or Human Resources Department. If the colleague's behavior goes beyond mere unfriendliness to abusive behavior, then it is time to say something.
You do have a legitimate complaint if the unfriendly colleague's behavior is distracting you from doing your job. Abusive behavior is not easy to ignore, nor should you ignore it. No one goes to work with the intention of being abused mentally or physically.
Unfriendly people are not fun to deal with at work. They can make the workday seem to drag on and on as well as make you dread even going to work. At the very least, unfriendly colleagues make the workplace uncomfortable.
The best way you can deal with unfriendly colleagues is by being polite and firm when talking to them and keeping yourself focused on your own tasks and projects. You cannot force people to be amiable nor can you convince them to like you. Some people are just not very friendly and you must work around that fact.
