Problem

For the past few years I have had to work fairly extensively with a colleague who is just impossible. He is arrogant, stubborn, sometimes abusive, and acts like he is right about almost everything.  At first I tried to ignore it, but it just gotten worse. It's so bad, I feel like every night when I go home, all I think about is how miserable this person is. It is also affecting people around us, since we all spend so much time talking about this person.

One topic that is of interest to most people in the workplace is conflict; how it works, how to avoid it, and how to deal with it when it occurs. It is indeed the rare organization that doesn't have to face the issue of conflict, and how to harness it so that it produces positive results rather than destruction.

In this article, we are going to look at some important elements of conflict, how it escalates over time, and suggest a few general strategies for dealing with it.

The workplace is a complicated place. Imagine a spider web of people, managers, supervisors and staff members who need to work together, interacting in various ways to fulfil the organization's mandate. Disagreements and conflict are bound to occur; between staff members, between staff and management, and between clients and members of your organization. 

When dealing with verbal abuse or hostility from clients, it is important to be able to avoid responding to the "bait" that is placed before you.  Not only is that important, but it is also important to know exactly what you can say, when you are subject to attacks like: 

"If you really cared about my welfare, you would give me my check!" 

"You guys in government are lazy and over-paid." 

"I bet if I wasn't [ethnic group], you would give me...." 

In this On The Line, we will help you deal with these kinds of remarks.