Throughout our working lives, all of us have had to deal with co-workers with whom we don’t have much in common, or with whom we don’t even get on well.
This is because, in a great many companies, we can find that typical employee who comes across as friendly and willing to help their colleagues but who, in reality, doesn’t think twice about taking credit for ideas that aren’t theirs or showing up a colleague in order to improve their chances of impressing their managers or getting a promotion.
Working with this kind of person can therefore become very tiresome, and it can have a negative effect on how we carry out our professional duties and tasks, as well as on our mood. So, if you want to stop this kind of person from getting in the way of your professional development and creating a tense and unpleasant atmosphere in the office, we recommend that you keep reading this article to find out how to unmask a co-worker who is taking advantage of you.
1. Keep your eyes wide open
If you suspect that your co-worker is trying to sabotage you in order to take credit for something that isn’t theirs, you should stay calm, remain attentive and analyse their strategy so that you can neutralise it. That said, with this step we are not encouraging you to become obsessed and analyse every single move this co-worker makes, but we are encouraging you to stay alert, as this kind of co-worker is capable of lying and belittling others in order to achieve their goals.
2. Learn to communicate assertively
If you have evidence that your co-worker is trying to sabotage you, you need to be able to express your wishes and opinions clearly and firmly, but without coming across as aggressive or impulsive, as that would only make the situation worse. We therefore recommend that you ask your co-worker to be honest with you, just as you are being with them, and that you spell out which aspects of their behaviour are making you uncomfortable or upsetting you, so that they can correct them.
Likewise, if after talking to this person we see that the situation isn’t improving, we recommend that you go straight to reporting the matter to your manager, showing them the evidence you have of your co-worker’s behaviour and attitude so that they can take action.
3. Don’t let them manipulate you
This kind of co-worker often has a surprising ability to make us believe that their unprofessional conduct and behaviour are a product of our imagination, or that they aren’t as important as we are making them out to be. Comments like these can leave us feeling somewhat insecure, making us question ourselves even though we know we are right. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, we recommend that you stand firm, trust yourself and don’t let yourself be manipulated by this kind of person.
4. Set some boundaries with your co-worker
If none of the previous tips have helped you to fix your relationship with your co-worker, the best solution is to distance yourself from this person and only keep in contact with them when strictly necessary for work reasons.
We hope all these tips are useful as you learn how to unmask a bad co-worker. If you would like to read more articles on similar topics, we recommend that you take a full look at this blog by Arantxa Pisón, psychologist in Vigo
