5 Effective Tactics to Deal With a Biased Coworker
Dealing with a biased co-worker can be an exhausting and extremely frustrating experience. On top of that, it can have a direct negative impact on your performance and productivity.
To prevent any untoward incidents or a deterioration of your professional relationship with your biased coworker, check out these 5 effective tactics to deal with a biased coworker that you can use for an improved working atmosphere.
Keep Calm
Fighting fire with fire is not a good idea when dealing with a biased co-worker as it would only make the situation worse. What you want to do is to keep calm and not let your emotions get the best of you.
Yes, it’s a difficult thing to do, but it’s important when responding to negative comments, criticisms, and actions of a biased co-worker. Always respond and act calmly and respectfully because if you don’t, the tides will eventually turn against you.
Hear out his/her perspective
Understanding where your co-worker is coming from is an effective way to deal with this type of situation. It takes patience and an open mind to be able to do this, but the benefits cannot be ignored. After hearing out and getting a clear understanding of your co-worker’s perspective, you’ll then be able to know how to respond and deal with them properly.
It can also be an opportunity for you to check and understand yourself as well. If you end up seeing that your colleague is undeniably irrational and biased, then you can formulate a better approach on issues and other important matters.
Don’t retaliate
Retaliation is probably the worst thing one can do when dealing with biased colleagues. Getting back at them is not a good idea as it doesn’t resolve any issues. In fact, it only creates new issues between you. As much as possible, you want to have a stress-free and harmonious working experience with all your co-workers.
Acting the same way as your biased colleague will also put your projects, tasks and even your career in peril. Remember, a client would always want his or her team to work hand in hand, and if it cannot be achieved, it’s likely that one of you has to go, and you don’t want to risk the possibility of losing your own job.
Let your boss know about it
If you think that things are getting out of control and your work has been negatively affected,, then it’s time to let your client or supervisor know of the situation before things become worse. This will allow your client to straighten things up and possibly take necessary action for any unprofessional incidents to occur in the future. Escalate if necessary, but do this once you have exhausted all efforts to fix the problem by yourselves or if you think the problem can’t be solved between co-workers.
Move on
Once you’ve understood your co-worker’s perspective and you feel that he/she may be right, move on and continue to do your job. It may be difficult at first, but perfecting the art of moving on has huge benefits not only for virtual assistants or virtual employees like you but also for the whole business organization itself.
Moving on politely is like taking the high ground. You should realize that the primary reason you’re here is to work and do the tasks assigned to you. Always strive to maintain that professional and harmonious relationship even if it’s just on the business level. This is important for both your career and the business of the client you’re working for.
Encountering a biased office mate is not uncommon. Hopefully, following the 5 tactics above will help you deal with the situation easily and professionally.
