5 Ways to Keep Your Cool at the Office

How can you deal with annoying bosses and co-workers? Follow these steps to stay calm.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on October 18 2010

Flickr Creative Commons image by Denise Mattox

Annoying co-workers, difficult customers, demanding bosses—we’ve all been there. In fact, we think this video is a pretty great representation of the whole situation. (If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch. We’ll wait.) But if you can’t simply head back out to the playground when it gets to be too much, what can you do to unwind from all the stresses of the daily grind? Here are a few tips.

1. Remember: Other people have problems, too. Sure, you may want to roll your eyes every time your office receptionist forwards a chain e-mail—but maybe she’s got a sick parent and is really counting on the luck she’ll supposedly gain from passing on the message. Before lashing out at someone, consider her circumstances, and try to let it go without a fight.
2. Tune it out. Tired of listening to your co-workers gab about last night’s Glee? If you’ve got your own office, just shut the door. Otherwise, plug in some headphones and jam out to something a little more mellow.
3. Don’t catch someone else’s bad mood. Moods are contagious—so if someone’s got a negative vibe, stay away. “Either physically move away to break the negative energy, or else get immersed in your work,” stress-management expert Debbie Mandel told Monster.com.
4. Focus on communicating well with your co-workers. It’s easy to let little annoyances bubble over and cause stress. When something bugs you, deal with it then and there in a polite manner.
5. See the humor in the situation. Maybe you’re not using your full intellectual capacity on the job—but chances are, you can still find something worth laughing at. If nothing else, your co-workers could provide great inspiration for your sitcom pilot. It worked for The Office.

Filed under: General Interest, Health and Wellbeing,

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