The Petty Party

Toxic co-workers can have an adverse effect on one’s well-being. Anindita Ghosh finds out how to deal with them

- Anindita Ghosh

Six months into her job, Ruchita Goswamy, a content writer at a Delhi-based firm, started suffering from frequent headaches, anxiety attacks, and insomnia. While she initially dismissed these as a side-effect of a stressful job, a chat with a counsellor narrowed down the cause of the ailments to one particular irritant—a bullying co-worker. “I was indeed having a tough time dealing with my immediate senior who was unpredictable. Sometimes, she’d be friendly and encouraging, and, at other times, she’d fly into a rage and chastise me in front of the office. As a result, I was always stressed, and on tenterhooks. But I never imagined it would affect my health as well. I took up the issue with the HR department and asked for a transfer to another department. Thankfully, they agreed, and my health is far better now with my current, calmer supervisor.”

Research has proved that dealing with toxic co-workers can lead one to suffer from a host of health problems. According to a study titled Targeted workplace incivility: The roles of belongingness, embarrassment, and power by the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and London School of Economics and Political Science, bad behaviour from colleagues can lead to headaches, stomach problems, and sleeplessness. Also, it’s not just medical issues one deals with; friction with colleagues can affect the person’s performance, career prospects, general work culture, and ambience of a workplace.

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