If you come into regular contact with a difficult person at work you’ll know how stressful and upsetting it can be. They get called ‘difficult people’ – a term that covers a host of different meanings – none of them very positive. Of course, what it really means is that someone’s difficult behaviour which is inconvenient or upsetting.

Every organisation has disagreements and disputes between employees. Often people will say that they are not hurting anyone except themselves. But this is not true. The effects ripple out!

There is plenty of advice out there on how to deal with difficult people. Much of it is presented in a jokey, give-them-as-good-as-they-deserve type of way, often accompanied by light-hearted cartoons showing stereotypical situations complete with quips and captions.

But, as anyone who has had to put up with difficult behaviour knows, it is not funny when a colleague causes problems at work, and the effects can ripple out, having a negative effect on workplace relationships, productivity, and staff welfare generally. Whether we call them difficult people or something else doesn’t matter. What matters is the disruption that can be caused to individuals and the business by behaviour which is unacceptable in the workplace.

Many managers are at a loss with how to deal with some of the less desirable behaviour at work. This is not surprising, because few of us are trained in dealing constructively with work-related problems that are not part of the normal work routine. Take for example some of the cases I have heard about recently:

• Shouting matches between colleagues who used to be ‘friends’
• A middle manager having an affair with one of her direct reports, so losing the respect of her team
• A dispute between two senior members of a medical team, so they never talk directly to each other
• Sullen silence from a key team member since a former colleague became her manager
• Everyone pussyfooting around the most temperamental person in the office because of his temper tantrums.

I could go on. Every company has disagreements and disputes between employees. Often people will say that they are not hurting anyone except themselves. But this is not true. Disagreements upset everyone. On a day-to-day basis, minor upsets are generally managed by the people concerned, and nothing worse happens. But when a dispute becomes repetitive or even descends into a feud, the stress gets everyone within range, and the consequences can be serious and far-reaching.

Let’s take a look at just three areas where the impact is most felt; relationship difficulties at work, stress and emotion, and workplace productivity.

Relationship difficulties at work

Problems with relationships at work invariably cause more hardship for those caught up in them than is apparent to an outsider. In cases where there is a long standing disagreement or ‘personality clash’ the effects on an individual can become extreme, going beyond irritation or stress and actually causing health problems. A normal reaction is to avoid the source of the problem – the other person – to communicate less with them or not at all, and even to stay away from work. Common behavioural effects of an enduring difficulty with a workplace relationship are:

• Avoidance of the (problem) person
• Absenteeism
• Lack of motivation
• Gossip and back-biting
• Refusal to communicate
• Misunderstandings
• Refusal to follow instructions
• Poor timekeeping
• Accusations of bullying
• Excessive drinking/smoking
• Arguments
• Controlling or disrespectful behaviour.

Stress and emotion

The stress brought about by difficult behaviour at work is too serious to laugh off. Many people lead pressured lives anyway, without the unnecessary stress of having to cope with the behaviour of someone who should know better. The catalogue of effects is long, here are the main ones:

• Stress and anxiety
• Depression and other mental health problems
• Poor physical health
• Fatigue and sleep problems
• Drinking excessively
• Smoking and recreational drug use
• Allergies
• Headaches, back aches
• Digestive problems
• Low self esteem
• Irritability and mood swings
• Disturbed eating patterns
• Poor concentration
• Loss of motivation.

Workplace productivity

At work our energy and enthusiasm are sapped by people who persistently use difficult behaviour. I have regularly seen entire projects jeopardised because of the behaviour of one person. I have met staff who have changed jobs because they felt unable to improve a relationship with one colleague and I have known many effective and competent managers who have found themselves powerless in the face of the disruptive actions of one or two employees.

In some of the worst cases the ‘difficult person’ simply gets shuffled from department to department.

The cost of disputes at work goes far beyond the direct impact on those involved. The trouble isn’t necessarily the fact that conflict exists. It’s the damage that it causes when conflicts aren’t resolved. The impact of an ongoing dispute at work can be catastrophic to the those in the dispute, but also to their colleagues and the business as a whole. The known effects include:

• Frustration and non-compliance
• Sleep disturbance
• Relationship difficulties
• Grievances and complaints
• Absenteeism
• Employee turnover
• Loss of productivity
• Project delays
• Client complaints
• Sabotage and ‘foot-dragging’
• Injury and accidents
• Long term absence.

It goes without saying that no company should ignore a single instance of behaviour that could impact on staff welfare and productivity in these ways, let alone the cumulative effect that can occur when one, or both, parties’ difficult behaviour is allowed to continue.

Next time you hear the term difficult person, remember that the stress and unhappiness that such behaviour cause about the effects on others, and the costs to the business. Difficult People are often unhappy people and, at the very least, they cause unhappiness in those around them, but as we’ve seen the cost can be much higher.

Finding solutions

But all is not lost. Tackled in the right way, and as early as possible, these negative side effects can be kept to a minimum.

Here are three ideas for things you can do if a difficult person is causing you grief,

• Subscribe to my newsletter; you’ll receive regular updates and ideas absolutely free.
• Learn how to handle the difficult behaviour. Buy the book, the CD ROM, or both. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind and both contain tips and hints you can use right away.
• Get help or advice; if none is available at work, contact me and we can talk about Personal consulting.
• Watch the trailer to my online course Difficult People and How to Deal With Them.