What to Say When Coworkers Stress You Out

Expert Advice For Tactfully Handling Awkward, Annoying Situations In The Workplace

- Catherine Newman

UNLESS YOU’RE WORKING all by yourself (lucky, lonely you), human interactions are required, and occasional flare-ups are inevitable. “Part of your job is building relationships,” says workplace consultant Lindsey Pollak, author of The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace. “And when those relationships go awry, part of your job is repairing them.” Ideally, we are always bringing our most compassionate, flexible, and improvisational selves to these situations. “You’re so passionate about cucumbers!” I once told an editor after she flew into a rage about a cookbook sidebar. Another time I said, “It makes sense we’re all so stressed, being ER doctors,” to make a room full of deadline cranky publishing folks laugh. And yes, sometimes it feels like I’m doing more diplomatic untangling than actual work, which is why I called on some experts. Beyond following the Golden Rule—which is always a good general practice—these were their suggestions for talking your way out of common office conflicts.

You share a work area with someone who is extremely messy.