Dealing With Difficult People

When stress at work and its cost are studied, new problems appear all the time. While the factory employee dies the death of a thousand cuts, the total cost to the taxpayer reflect a much greater problem. The "problem" is millions of people all over the country committing white collar crimes as well as individuals more serious ones.

In conclusion, positive action needs to be taken to ensure workers are encouraged to wear protection, and obey regulations set before them. Best practices should be applied and working relationships on pride in the job rather than a a shared contempt for health and safety.

It is fair to say that costs to the tax payer worldwide could be reduced if everyone “does their bit” to look after themselves and others (bosses!) properly- and in the case of anyone in a managerial position- to take a slight profit loss on the chin and provide good conditions for their employees.

Will this happen in the near or distant future? Not likely.

Dealing with difficult people: The schemer
Initially, you may not recognize the schemer until they have done a considerable amount of damage. They operate secretly, which is why it can be difficult, especially as the more subtle ones will be friendly to you.

Here are some ways to spot a schemer:

• They give you a hard time by telling other people your weak points or
• bad mouthing you behind your back
• These people also seek control but adopt an undercover approach
• The personality type is not usually confrontational
• They use in jokes which only the initiated get, in order to make fun of people

Tackling difficult person number 2

• Deal with any attacks you hear straight away, head on. Snipers generally arent able to to attack head on so they do it from the side. You will catch them off guard this way.
• When you deal with the attack, try and work out what the real problem behind the situation and be ready to prove yourself differently from their analysis.
• In the case of insults, you may wish to return them, providing the situation stays light hearted. Make "in" jokes with other colleagues if you want ;)
  

Remember: Where possible, keep your actions to a minimum and alter your routine a little when the schemer is around. Don't give them anything to go on.

Intro
What are the main causes for stress at work? Outside of many high flying executive jobs, it isn’t an aggressive boss breathing down your neck or even Jobs in the emergency service sectors! Stress at work has many causes, most of them however, trace back to financial reasons or public relations.

Levels or stress at work
A survey in Canada which monitored stress at work, showed a factory worker is more likely to feel psychological strain than a policeman. And, according to Montreal University, the countries’ manufacturing sector should have a public-health inspection on their shop floors due to the rise in the number of troubled employees. The study also shows that employees in labouring or manufacturing departments report the poorest mental health, while other jobs with higher predicted levels of stress at work like emergency service jobs have a mentally healthy workforce in comparison.
The professor behind the study expressed surprise at the results of the survey and suggested workload and exposure to inappropriate working materials as some of the reasons for the mental stress at work.

Employees cause some stress at work
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) survey in 2002 shows that whilst some PPE is not provided by the boss, many factory workers disregard PPE provided by their employer out of choice, with style and comfort being the most common reasons, while others said it got in the way when trying to do the job.

Causes of stress at work
Many of these factory workers, however, do not realize the re-percussions of their actions and that they are exposing themselves to long term damages affecting their job, while line managers may turn a blind eye to safety measures because of loss of productivity and out of anxiousness for good relations with workers.
Only a few factories have best practices in place and fewer still send their employees on safety courses where they can be shown how to lift and handle equipment correctly. These are the main factors which contribute to the workers well being, but are neglected for financial reasons. Unfortunately, stress at work costs over £530 million- and that’s just in Britain.

Stress Defined
What is stress? Why do people say "I feel stressed!"? The most common source of stress comes from dealing with difficult people, and, according to psychology experts, stress itself and feeling stress are results of chemicals being released from the body in to the blood, and happen as a result of actions that take place outside the body. Whether it is dealing with difficult people or that problem with a dripping tap effect- or something as simple as a rainy day, these can all cause feelings of stress or anxiety. Identical to an infection, a small problem gets worse if left to develop. Stress levels resulting from stressful situations are often worsened because they are dwelt upon instead of being rationalized. Hence, the most stressed people are often not the most rational.

Reasons for stress
Apart from partners, where do almost all confrontations occur? The workplace. More specific- certain difficult people in your workplace. After all, you spend the majority of your waking hours working. Bosses generally spend the most time dealing with dificult people, although jobs dealing with the public can be stressful in this way too. In order to own and respect yourself, you must be equipped at dealing with difficult people effectively, and, according to two surveys conducted in 2006-07(conducted by labour force*), over half a million people in the UK thought that they were experiencing stress at work to an extent where it was affecting their health. In other words, they weren't equipped. Not all stress can be blamed on difficult people, but alot can be traced back. That shows a lot of people who can't solve their problems effectively, and that's just the ones that admit to it- the actual figure is far greater!

*Surveys conducted by Labour Force for Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI)

Difficult People: Type 1- The Dominant

These are natural leaders and usually seem the toughest to handle at first because they are very dominant. Feared and respected more than the boss. Unquestioned by colleagues and avoided by seniors, the dominant, seeks to own every person and thing where they work, and often:

• have a set way of doing things,
• become frustrated when they think people are challenging them,
• abusive in arguments, critical of others,
• rough to people in public.
• set goals and will do anything to achieve them
• quite big physically
• Must maintain their ego

Tackling difficult person type 1
This type of difficult person relies on dominance to get what they want.
They seek to display their ego at every opportunity. Completely ignore it. Remain neutral, and asking open ended questions (calmly) about the situation, the problem will be solved quickly. You can also try and create a diversion by asking a related question, to calm them down. Agree where you can.
Remember: Although (dominant) difficult people put their image before anything else, don't let them talk down to you- you are all there to do a job and should work like cogs in a machine. You are all needed.