There are two ways to deal with someone you don’t like at work (or life).

  1. Tell him. Try to fix it.
  2. Don’t tell him. Don’t try to fix it.

There are a million ways to screw this up.

  1. Tell the person. Then never give him an opportunity to fix his mistakes.
  2. Don’t tell him. Tell everybody else.
  3. Tell everyone how gracious and forgiving you are while not behaving that way.
  4. Stay in the safe zone of bitter silence.
  5. Ignore his attempts to make things right.
  6. Be suspicious.
  7. Write passive-aggressive blog posts.
  8. Vaguebook.
  9. Publish mysterious tweets.
  10. Pretend you like the person … but then stab him in the back.
  11. Create a narrative where you’re both the victim and the hero.

I could go on and on because I have been on both sides of that list (at work & in life).

You don’t have to be friendly with everybody you meet. If you don’t like someone, be an adult and move on.

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Category: Work2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. There is always the possibility that it’s nothing the other person has actually DONE. There may be nothing TO make right.

    There’s a dude who annoys the living crap out of me. But you know what? It’s MY problem probably more than it is his. So i try to be mindful of that. He’s not a bad person, he’s not a bad co-worker.

    So in addition to your first list I might add option 3) Either get over it or work through it. Use your manners.

  2. This has nothing to do with your post. I’ve just emerged my cave to find you’ve move. How dare you! <3

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