How to Handle Difficult People

Dealing with difficult people drains productivity, energy, and happiness out of the place. But those that are perpetually oil to your water doesn't have to create more stress than they have to. In fact, recent studies have found that chronic negativity towards difficult men and women tend to have a positive impact on employee productivity. There is an interesting study that sheds light on this issue. The research was carried out at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the study was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

The study was done to see just how much effect negativity had on the operation of an organization. Prior to carrying out the study, the researchers asked a sample of both large and smaller organizations to accelerate their relationships with difficult people, on a numerical scale, after every six months. They wanted to know if there was a gap in performance between these firms who were always dealing with difficult people and those who were not. At the exact same time, they were also interested in how much impact that conflict and its resolution needed on productivity and profitability. This way, they could analyze the correlation between the two.

After carrying out the survey, they came up with some interesting findings. Not surprisingly, they found that businesses that had frequent and productive experiences with difficult people tended to have higher profits. The results did indicate that when dealing with difficult clients, companies should always try to keep things calm and avoid taking sides. But the researchers also made sure to point out that there was a flip side to that as well. In case you were a manager or a head of department in a business that regularly dealt with difficult customers, it might be a good idea to step back and make sure that everyone was working towards common goals.

According to the poll results, dealing with difficult people had a negative effect on workers' morale, but it was just for the brief term. Once the battle was over, employees were usually eager to place everything apart again. They also said they liked the job they were doing because they were learning something new about a difficult person or situation. In this regard, dealing with a difficult person proved to be beneficial to both parties.

According to another study, it was found that when a boss confronted a tough person at work, they could say"No", calm down and think things through before becoming a heated discussion or argument. In the event of an employee, the boss could say"No" and make a proposal to resolve the issue. Even though the conversation might turn tense and heated, it could still be handled peacefully by employees. In other words, dealing with difficult people was not bad in itself, but it became problematic when emotions began tussling and tempers flared.

Another of the ways of how to manage difficult people was to stay calm and ignore them. This was seen to be useful particularly for supervisors because it enabled them to take control. Additionally, it encouraged employees to do their best so that they would be viewed as important. When people were disregarded, they started to feel as though they were undesirable. With all the hard work they put in, they felt like they deserved a little attention.

Additionally, it has been seen that when people come to an important decision, they generally take the time to examine the situation first before taking any action. When you dismiss something because you're afraid of becoming angry or making a mistake, it almost always ends up in an ugly fight, where everybody gets hurt. Employees who feel like they are being pushed around will make sure they are presentable at all times. This is one way of how to deal with difficult individuals.

One thing that all managers should remember is that dealing with difficult coworkers is not straightforward. If you want to see improvements in your company's performance and employee morale, then you must stay calm in the face of any challenge posed by difficult coworkers. You also have to avoid taking any actions that may antagonize any worker. Avoiding confrontation only permits you to take care of the problem properly and without ending up in a bad situation.