​How to Deal With Annoying CoWorkers

Most of your waking weekday hours are spent in the presence of your coworkers and, while you surely have your favorites, you probably go out of your way to avoid certain characters, like Loud Linda over in Accounting, Belching Bob in IT, or (if you're Michael Scott from "The Office"- pictured above) Toby in HR. Others, you can't really get away from, like Potty Mouth Paul two cubicles over, who needs his mouth washed out with Palmolive, and Reeking Rita, whose over-the-top perfume makes your chest hurt and your eyes burn from across the way.

Annoying coworkers are a sad fact of life, but there's really not a lot we can do about them unless we're the boss and can hole up in the corner office and pretend to be on an important conference call.

The rest of us are expected to play nice with the other kids, no matter how loud, smelly, foul, or otherwise unpleasant they may be. So here are some tips on getting along with everyone in the office, including the intern whose Metallica transcends his headphones, nonstop, all day.

Look Inside

Carl Jung once said, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." Try to figure out why the co-worker annoys you so. Is it because the behavior somehow reminds you of yourself or someone you hated in high school? Is it due to your deeply held beliefs or is it simply a personality clash? Understanding why you're so affected - especially if others in the office aren't - can help you lessen the effect the behavior has on you.

Keep a Sense of Humor

It takes all kinds of people to run an office. If everyone was like you, how boring would that be? Think of your annoying coworkers as fascinating human specimens, and embrace the diversity. Find humor in the fact that Helen stinks up the break room with sour kraut every single day, or that Walter down the way can't stop whistling the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies. You can't stop all of the behaviors you find annoying, so you may just have to embrace them as part of the diverse workplace experience.

Look Deeper

Chances are, your annoying coworker isn't engaging in the annoying behavior just to ruin your day. Maybe Whistlin' Walter doesn't even know he's doing it on account of his OCD. Maybe Bad Breath Betty has a medical condition, and maybe Connie the Complainer suffers from anxiety or depression. Give your annoying coworkers the benefit of the doubt. Getting to know your coworkers a little better may provide clues to the behaviors and help you see that there's more to the behavior than what you see - or hear, or smell - on the surface.

Lighten Up

If you've got a lot of complaints about more than a few of your coworkers, maybe it's time to just take a deep breath and let it all go. If the Gossipy Glenda drives you to distraction at the water cooler, walk away. Train your brain to block out Nervous Norville's incessant pencil tapping. Just shake your head and roll your eyes to yourself when Loud Lucy starts talking on the phone, and then try to just let it go. No one's out to make you miserable, and if there's nothing about the behavior that's universally offensive or against company policy, you're just going to have to learn to live with it.

Be Proactive

Get yourself a set of noise-canceling headphones and slip them on when the annoying chit chat or faraway laughter interferes with your concentration. Find a quiet place to enjoy your lunch if you find the break room conversation annoying. When you see the office know-it-all headed your way, put in that phone call you need to make. Little avoidance strategies can help you head off situations that you know are going to make you nuts.

If You Have to Say Something...

If you can't take it anymore and you feel the need to talk to your coworker about the annoying behavior, do it in private, and be kind and gentle. Start the conversation on a friendly note, and bring up your complaint without any traces of frustration or disdain. Be direct. "Walter, sometimes when you whistle, I lose my concentration. Might it be possible to keep it down a touch? Or at least change up the tune?" or "Lucy, I'm sure you don't realize this, but when you're on the phone, you talk kinda loud, and it makes it hard for me to hear my own phone conversations. Could you maybe lower your voice just a little?"

Leave it to HR

If the behavior is something serious, such as Rita's perfume giving you horrific heartburn or the office bully making life in the office truly miserable and interfering with your sense of wellbeing, present your case to Human Resources and let them handle it. That's part of their job, and they have people who are trained in handling these matters.