Who Started The Problem?
One of the points that a group presenting in my class made this morning is that often, difficult people look at others and think that the problem lies with the other people in the office. For example, Joe and Sally are talking. Joe thinks Sally is so rude, and so Joe begins being standoffish toward Sally. Sally then thinks Joe is rude, so she begins being a little more obnoxious to get his attention. Do you see how this cycle could escalate and how each person could think of the other person as someone who is difficult to work with? Joe may say Sally started the problem, while Sally may say Joe started the problem. Communication scholars call this punctuation. How Joe thinks about the beginning of the conflict may be substantially different than how Sally thinks about it. Who’s right? Who knows? And “right” may not be relevant. The important thing may be to recognize the cycle and step off that (not-so)merry-go-round.
Filed under: Conflict | Tagged: annoying coworkers, Conflicts, Dealing with Conflict, Dealing with Difficult People, Workplace Relations
