A Toxic Colleague, What Do You Do About It?

At work , you may encounter people trying to work their way up regardless of what they have to do to get it. They might even do it at the expense of their peers. We call such a person a toxic colleague.

They interpret their actions in a way that they can justify. This will make it look like they were doing it right for you, or had no idea that what they were doing was hurting you. It is therefore better to lose a toxic colleague than to be rich, but because this is not easy, it is best that we learn what we can do about it.

It is important not to confuse competition between colleagues with actions such as lying, manipulation and cheating. What that toxic coworker wants is to show off his skills while tearing down others’. He always sees others as his rivals and uses them to achieve his own goals.

Sometimes you come across certain colleagues who, instead of focusing on their work, only focus on what they want. It’s important to stay away from them if you want to avoid long-term problems.

We can’t choose our colleagues

When we get a new job, we have to learn to get along with the people we work with. Just as we cannot choose our relatives, we cannot choose our colleagues, no matter how nice this would have been.

If we don’t have a good relationship with our colleagues, we won’t enjoy our time at work and the work environment will be anything but pleasant.

It’s best to be prepared so that our relationship with that toxic coworker doesn’t cause us serious trouble. And toxic colleagues can cause a lot of trouble. One is work-related stress.

Work-related stress

This type of stress, also known as work stress, is very common in industrialized societies. The increasing pressure in the work environment can exhaust employees both physically and mentally.

It also has certain consequences that will affect not only the health of the employees, but also the health of their immediate environment.

Job stress occurs when the employee’s resources are threatened by work factors that they believe they cannot cope with. This manifests itself in several ways. The symptoms range from irritability to depression and it also causes physical and/or mental exhaustion.

According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, work stress is the second most common work-related problem.

This has many different causes. The most common are job insecurity, very long shifts and feeling threatened or intimidated. The latter is where our toxic colleague comes into play.

How do you recognize a toxic colleague?

Let’s look at the most distinctive features of toxic colleagues:

• They will never share valuable information with other people. They just keep the information for themselves. They will only share it if it benefits them themselves.
• Toxic colleagues are fake. These people have no problem with lying, making things seem different from what they are, or manipulating others.
• They subtly comment or criticize someone else’s work, especially if they see the person as a threat.

• They will never be happy with the success of their colleagues. Instead, they will try to knock them down and make them look bad.
• Their attitude towards their colleagues is very different from their attitude towards key people in the company. In the presence of these people , they do everything they can to make a good impression and stand out.

Toxic co-workers know they need others to move up the ranks. Never underestimate a toxic colleague, because he is much more dangerous than he appears. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it means putting others at risk for it.

It is extremely important to be careful and intelligent when dealing with toxic colleagues. Often they will come across as calm and vulnerable to you, making it quite difficult to identify them at first. This ability to hide their true intentions makes them very dangerous.

Toxic colleagues often go unnoticed for a longer period of time. Sometimes they even become best friends with the rest of the team. They do that to gain other people’s trust and use them when they need them.

What can we do about it?

Toxic colleagues are neither ethical nor honest. However, as professionals, they can be respected by the bosses and the entire company. Once you’ve detected a toxic coworker in your work environment, you can act smartly to minimize risk. Here are some guidelines that may be helpful to you:

• Toxic colleagues want to psychologically destroy other people. To do that, they could provoke conflict. Best not to participate in their brain games. Greet them with a smile every time you come across them. That will make them feel confused and disoriented.
• Do not share valuable information with them, this is very important. Don’t try to build a relationship with them and be careful what you say when they are around. It doesn’t even hurt to keep an eye on your belongings. You never know!
• The majority is stronger. Be friends with your other colleagues and trust them. Warn them about that toxic coworker that no one notices. If a toxic coworker finds himself being left out or rejected, he will no longer feel so strong and will have to choose between changing his attitude or simply leaving.

As we have seen, toxic coworkers are very ignorant people with bad intentions who are always out to harm others. Don’t try to build a relationship with them, just ignore them. If you follow the strategies we have given you, waging this battle will not be difficult.