10 Ways to Avoid Being a Hated Co-Worker

By: Michael Rivera
The LBCC Commuter
Video/Sports Editor

I worked on a piece last year called “10 Ways to Avoid Being a College Asshole”. Recently, it has come to my attention that “dick coworkers” are a real issue in the workplace. Mind you, I might not be the most humble at times, yet I find ways to get along with people at work.The problem I have with these people is that they seem to incite actual hate from me, which is really hard to do.

This column is mostly dedicated to a certain person I work with. I will keep his/her name from the text because I, personally, don’t like my name being called out in publications. Plus, I have a very good feeling that this person already knows who they are; they’ll either hate me for this or laugh when they read it. However, not everything is centered around that person; just snippets. So here are some tips in here that could help avoid being despised in the workplace.

10. Don’t Criticizing People’s Personal Lives:

There is a vast amount of people with different lifestyles; it just so happens that we have to share space with each other at work. You’d be surprised on how critical we can be of people. For example, girls are so there for eachother, ready to unleash their claws of fashion upon the lone gazelle who happened to be having a bad hair day. How about you give that guy who happened to write something that wasn’t too clear in his article a break and not write a whole response back that is an apparent slap to his face?

There is constructive and destructive criticism. Constructive is great in the workplace. It makes for efficiency and helps you get better at your job. Destructive criticism can only bring about resentment and have the opposite effect on the person improvement at work.

9. Hold Your End of the Job:

The beautiful thing about work is when everyone contributes to an end goal that you can be proud of. It really sucks when someone can’t pull their weight around the job, making it harder for other people to do the work. Let’s face it; the second you can’t pull your weight around a job, the second you set yourself up for unemployment. If you’re coworkers end up having to do your work on a routine basis, don’t expect to gain their respect.

8. Stop Bitching About Work:

For the most part, people dislike their jobs. There are the few who actually do what they love to do, but most of us are stuck with something we aren’t leaping for joy over. This is especially the case in college; we take the jobs that we can get because it pays the bills. What makes work even worse is that person who repeated talks about how they hate their job, I don’t get paid enough,  I hate working too many hours, I don’t get enough hours, blah blah blah...

I understand it might not be the most kosher job, but please do us all a big favor and shut the hell up. Being a Negative Nancy will accomplish you nothing. Why not try and be cheerful help people around you stay positive.

7. Be Accountable:

Look, no one is perfect; we all tend to make big and small mistakes. Regardless of their scale, we all need to own up to our errors. At times, you will take heat for them, but its better to take the licks than to avoid them. Running from the problem or pawning it off on someone else just drags out the inevitable; you will get caught. If you are accountable for your actions, you then are able to move on from them.

Also, if you are struggling with something at work, it’s always good to have someone there to keep you accountable for the issues you’re trying to work on. The key to this golden rule is, ultimately, to let yourself take responsibility for everything you do.

6. Don’t Try an Be a Self-Appointed Boss:

I hate that person, who feels they are in charge of everyone. They routinely kiss your bosses ass, talk in a condescending tone and try to assert dominance in every way possible (well, officewise at least). I wouldn’t worry too much about these people; their bark is way worse than their bite. Just enjoy being another peon without taking on responsibilities that aren’t yours. Enjoy doing your job and getting rewarded for it rather than looking like a complete tool.

5. Don’t Be a Tattle-tale:

We’re not in grade school anymore. If someone is still taking your lunch, at this point in time of life, you’ve got issues that I’ll leave for a column in the future. If you have  problem with someone at work or a type of behavior, confront them first. Anything short of workplace sexual harassment, violence, drug use or anything that is required to be reported to your supervisor should be manageable between you and that person. Wait until its a big enough issue where you need to involve outside sources.

4. Avoid Discrimination:

I worked with a guy a couple years ago who used to make derogatory comments about men and women based on gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. I remember him always inviting people to his house or to hang out after work. The funny thing was that no one EVER took him up on his offers. If they ever did, no one ever mentioned it. The day he quit, I remember a more harmonious workplace. Perfect way to be hated around the office is to be that person who holds prejudices against people. You wouldn’t think that would be a big issue now-a-days, but it is still around.

3. Avoid Cutthroat Politics:

Now, I’m not talking about American Politics, but office politics. Don’t be the person who will consistently screw anybody over in order to move ahead. You will find that it is better to build bridges and maintain them, rather than to decimate them. Occasionally, we have to compete for an in-office job and, sure, you’re going to make yourself look like the best candidate for the job. It is possible to do this in a manner that allows two parties to maintain a professional relationship. Summary: don’t fuck people over unless you can unfuck the situation.

2. Keep Out of People’s Business:

It’s annoying when people take it upon themselves to spread gossip around like a Twitter feed. It’s those people who always want to hear the dirt and then have to make sure everybody knows. They are relentless and despised. The only reason we keep talking to this people is that fact that we can’t help but listening to other people’s shit.

I’ve learned over the years to keep a polite distance between people I work. Why? In order to work more efficiently with them. Now, I do open myself up to some people more than others, depending on the situation. This is just because there is some people you want to be friends with and others you have to put up with. Sad, yes, but those are facts of life. So, if I don’t volunteer information about my personal life to you, please don’t try to find out.  

1. You’re Not Always Right:

There are certain people that you work with who (regardless of whether you are speaking factually) will not cease to let go of any issues until they are either proven right or you give up. These types of people are generally closed-minded and prejudice to the core. I happened to work with one of these individuals, who arrogantly waves his opinion like it is the banner of all banners. The lingering asshole who will argue semantics in order to gain a molehill. At first, I brushed it off. As time developed, I started to realize that I am really starting to dislike this person, but it’s okay; we all are here to do our jobs. Eventually, it dawned on me that I would never like this person, plain and simple. Coming to this realization, I find that this most of my other coworkers shared the same feeling.

What am I trying to say here? To the guy who always needs to be right: Do yourself a favor; just shut the fuck up! Oh, so you found out something wrong with something I said; it must have felt great that you got to rub it in. Well, go ahead and revel in it, asshole. I have a lot more to live for then your petty game that you want to play every time we see each other. I wonder how it feels to be right all the time, but secretly hated by other employees? I’m glad that your opinion differs than mine (this is America, after all), but why should I want to have an intellectual debate with you if you don’t even respect my opinion?