| Taming the office jerk
Virginia Business
June 2004
Every
business faces a common threat that can undermine productivity
and drive away the best employees. No, it’s not
the IRS or a hostile takeover, but the “Jerk”
— that one employee whose narcissism, deception
and passive-aggressive behavior seems to hurt everyone
but themselves. Think Omarosa from “The Apprentice.”
But take heart, says self-proclaimed “jerk consultant”
Gloria Elliott of Roanoke-based Elliott
and Associates, which offers training on dealing with
chronically annoying people. Even the most difficult
co-worker or boss can be handled, she says. First, though,
employees have to abandon strategies that won’t
work. When it comes to jerks you can’t kill ’em
with kindness, Elliott says, or expect somebody else
to rescue you.
People who rely on normal, kind-hearted human interactions
tend to get annihilated, says Elliott, who has helped
Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, nonprofits
and even religious organizations overcome the nastiness
and manipulation invading their ranks.
“When these people mug us, when they practice
verbal violence or undermine us, we tend to be just
as surprised and unprepared the 20th time they do it
as we were the first time,” she says. “We
then rage in our car, seek sympathy from our friends,
file grievances. And the pattern just keeps repeating.”
Her advice? Don’t take the bait, for one. Have
some self-defense strategies, such as deflecting or
distracting your co-workers’ worst behaviors.
And keep your guard up even if the jerk seems to change.
If all else fails, hold on to the axiom that what goes
around comes around. Contrary to popular belief, Elliott
says, “really difficult people do get found out
eventually.” Just ask Omarosa.
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