Having rude colleagues can be a very unpleasant experience at work; whether they’re rude to you, clients, or other staff members, it can put you very much on edge. Once you are aware of a person’s rudeness, you are much more conscious of it, which can become very annoying. There are, however, ways in which you can broach the subject and come up with a solution.
- Example
There is no point in complaining about another staff member when you are doing the same thing. You must be a good role model and remember to treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. Being a good role model will only highlight other people’s rudeness within the office and make others aware of it.
- Ignorance
Ignorance simple isn’t an option for rudeness within the workplace, and it is important that if it is brought to your attention, you don’t ignore it. Don’t ever ignore rudeness, whether it is brought to your attention or you notice it, as this portrays the message that you condone it, regardless of if you do or not. Often addressing a person’s rude behavior will cause them embarrassment and lead to the rude behaviors stopping.
- Deal with it
You must take appropriate action as a response to this rudeness. You must assess the level of rudeness that is happening; whether it is upsetting people or losing clients, it simply isn’t okay. Remain calm and objective at all times and breach the topic delicately; it is important that you don’t appear biased or what you say might be overlooked. Dealing with the culprit and explaining how they are making others feel or how their behavior is having an impact is a great place to start. Quite often, rude people don’t realize the impact that they are having on people.
- Listen
It is important that you properly listen to what the person says to say whilst you remain objective. They may genuinely have a reason or a situation that happened which warranted a response from them. Listen to their point of view as there really are two sides to every story. By listening to the person in question, they are far more likely to open up and explain exactly what happened from their point of view.
- Follow up
You mustn’t simply let the offender proceed to continue their behaviors. You need to keep a close eye on them and their behaviors to see if there have been any changes. With them aware of you keeping an eye on them, it often makes them behave better as they feel that they are being observed. Keeping an eye on the person and following up on their behavior also gives them a sense of accountability.
