The Art of Collaboration: Effective Approaches to Managing Disgruntled Coworkers (Replay of past episode due to loss of voice.)

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Is your workplace toxic? Do you feel like a hostage dealing with an incessant complainer?

Dennis Guzik has the perfect solution for you! His advice offers a practical approach to dealing with that colleague who never stops complaining.

He suggests politely but firmly letting them know that you disagree and not getting dragged into drama or debate. Of course, if the situation escalates, seek help from management and law enforcement right away. With his tools, tips, and strategies you can effortlessly create a positive atmosphere at work again! You'll be able to resolve this in no time so both parties come out feeling happy about it.

Listen to Dennis Guzik’s Be the Ultimate Podcast to get access to his invaluable advice on how to manage difficult coworkers and succeed at work.

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Website: https://www.dennisguzik.com I release a new episode every Tuesday, and each one is about 7 minutes in length.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
All right, folks.
Well, today I'm going tointroduce you to a fictional
character called Jane.
She likes her job and she likeswhere she works and she likes
the boss that she works for, buther co-worker, sam, comes by
and usually just startscomplaining and bitching and
moaning about the job, which isthe same as hers, and he

(00:32):
complains about the boss andwhere they are.
This is a daily occurrence andit's getting to where then?
So what should she do?
Well, that's what we're goingto talk about today.
Hi, folks, I'm Dennis Guzik, theold jarhead with my Be the
Ultimate podcast, where I offeryou some great career advice
based on my three careers theMarine Corps, the corporate

(00:54):
world and now as a careerconsultant.
It's advice that I guaranteewill help you have the
professional life that you want.
So let's get back to Jane.
What should she do?
Should she just ignore Sam?
Well, that's not going to workreal well.
It's just hard to completelyignore somebody you work with,

(01:14):
no matter how much you wish youcould.
Should she play along with himeven though she does not feel
this way?
Nope, that's the wrong answer.
This is probably the mostcommon response people have, but
it's the wrong answer why?
Well, people do this becausethey don't want a conflict with
a co -worker.
So they say they agree and theyhope it gets left at that and

(01:37):
move on.
But there are several problemswith this.
First, jane would be violatingher own ethics by lying.
She would be left with thefeeling that she gave up her
integrity for a few minutes ofconflict avoidance Not good.
Second, you're adding fuel toSam's fire Again, not good.
Third, and if the word getsaround probably by Sam that Jane

(01:58):
hates it here too and that shedoes not like the boss, when
people hear this she'll havesome explaining to do.
She'll either have to admitthat she lied to Sam or that
she's lying now when she saysshe didn't mean that she did not
like her job and boss.
So then what should she do?
Well, the old jarhead has someadvice for you.
First, she should let Sam know,politely and professionally,

(02:21):
that she does not feel the wayhe does.
She needs to be clear that shelikes her job, she likes the
company she works for and shelikes her boss.
You don't want to get into adebate about it, but you need to
be definitive.
There's a good chance.
This will stop the dailybitching and moan sessions.
She could also ask Sam why, ifhe's so unhappy, he doesn't get
another job.

(02:42):
It just may be time to move on,and sometimes that person just
needs a little kick to getmoving on to other options.
You could say that you would behappy to help him move along
like looking over his resume butyou don't want to get too
involved.
What should Jane not do?
Well, what are those thingsthat she should not do?
She does not want to be hislistening post or get overly

(03:04):
involved with his moving on.
She is not his personalheadhunter.
She doesn't want to get toowrapped up with Sam and his
disgruntledness, if that's aword.
Remember, as I've mentioned inpast podcasts, you want to be
around people who want the bestfor you.
It's possible that what Samwants is for you to come down to
his miserable level, and thatis nothing that you should let

(03:25):
happen.
Then you need to let managementknow right away.
If the disgruntled employeedoes something like break the
copier or something like thatand management finds out that
you were aware of his intentions, you could be on the chopping
block, Not good.
Second, if it appears that thedisgruntled person needs
psychological help, you need torealize that you are not trained

(03:48):
to do this, so don't try to godown the path of being their
shrink.
And lastly, if the disgruntledco-worker says or implies that
they may do something violent,then you need to immediately
make that known to managementand maybe even law enforcement.
There is no other option.
Well, that's enough for now.
What's today's takeaway?
Well, if you're working with adisgruntled co-worker, the best

(04:12):
outcome is a win-win situationin which that worker moves on
and you no longer have to listento them bitch and mo.
Don't get dragged in, and letsomeone know if there's a chance
of sabotage or violence.
Well, thanks for listening tothe old Jarhead Ramblings and
please, if you like it, tellyour friends about the Be the
Ultimate Podcast and let me knowif you have a topic you'd like

(04:32):
me to address in the future.
Bye, thank you.
Thank you.