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Communicating at work 05

Troubleshooting
Lead-in

1 Read the descriptions of difficult co-workers and check any unknown vocabulary. Which would you
find the most difficult to deal with? Discuss with a partner.
1 The chatterbox They keep on talking and stopping you from concentrating on your work.
2 The complainer Someone with a very negative attitude who is always moaning.
3 The know-it-all They will go out of their way to criticise and correct you.
4 The yes man / woman A people-pleaser who will agree with everyone but then back out.
5 The grenade They have a tendency to explode into uncontrolled ranting for no apparent reason.
2 Now look at the following descriptions. Can you say what makes them difficult to work with?
1 The sniper
2 The staller
3 The back-stabber
4 The credit-grabber

Input

1 5.1 Listen to two managers, Sarah and Henry, discussing a new recruit, Pablo, who is not fitting in

well with the team.

1 What problems do they mention?
2 What possible reasons do they give for Pablo’s behaviour?
3 How do they plan to deal with Pablo?
2 5.2 Listen and complete the gaps.
1 … do I get an answer? No! He grunt, or give a ‘no’ or ‘yes’ or more likely say
nothing at all.
2 When she comes in, everything that happened to her that morning, in the
most minute detail – she never shuts up.
3 Monica is very needy. She has of rejection.
4 Some ‘clams’ feel that how unprepared or how stupid they are, if they keep
their mouths shut.
5 He might have to be in control at all times.
6 The others he’s not pulling his weight, that he’s not joining in, but
anything to him.
7 Hmm … he might just me.

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Communicating at work 05

Language focus

1 Read the language box. Add other examples from Lead-in 1 and 2.
Describing characteristic behaviour
1 Notice the use of will (’ll) + infinitive and the present continuous (+ always) to describe typical
behaviour, good and bad:
She’ll tell you everything that happened to her …

The others are always telling me …

2 The verbs tend to and keep (on) + -ing can be used to show the behaviour is repeated frequently:
… he tends to grunt
He might keep on ignoring me …

3 Complex behaviour can also be described by compound phrases like

Noun + preposition + noun:
a lack of confidence
Strong adjectives can modify the noun:
an intense fear of rejection

Noun + to + infinitive:
an enormous need to be in control at all times

2 Work with a partner. From the ideas in the language box think of the following.
1 At least two things that everyone experiences in their first job.

2 At least two things that are characteristic of people-pleasers.

3 At least two things that are characteristic of snipers.

4 Something you yourself have experienced at work.

5 One thing that tends to be characteristic of bullies at work.

6 Something you would hate to experience at work.

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Communicating at work 05

3 Work with a partner. Match the descriptions of difficult colleagues with possible reasons for
their behaviour.

Behaviour Reason
1 pessimists They may have an enormous need for approval.
2 panickers You may remind them of a difficult person in their past.
3 angry, bitter people They probably need to hold tightly to their beliefs to feel comfortable.
4 hostile co-workers They could feel ignored and that no one has listened to them.
5 people who can’t say ‘no’ They might be defending their ego or self-esteem.
6 show-offs It’s likely they aren’t just having a bad day, they are having a bad life.
7 nit-pickers They might feel they will be blamed if anything goes wrong.
8 passive people They may be caught up in a role that requires them to act like that.
9 dogmatic people They may be confused and overwhelmed.
10 bullying bosses They may feel if they don’t look out for errors, no one else will.

Task

1 You are going to discuss how to deal with four difficult co-workers. First read a short article
from an HR manager giving advice on how to approach a difficult employee or co-worker.
1 Do you agree with this 2 Do you find it helpful? Why / 3 Is there any advice you
advice? Why not? would like to add?
Discuss with a partner.

It is important to realise that difficult behaviour a success. Rather than saying ‘You never have
may be someone’s cry for help, attention or your reports ready on the first of the month’,
appreciation, rather than an attack on your you could say ‘I would be able to process this
personal authority as a manager or your account more quickly if I got your reports by the
competence as a co-worker. People are not the deadline we agreed. Can I rely on you?’
sum total of their behaviours, especially at work, You should try and avoid ‘Why?’ questions as
where the artificial nature of the environment people can interpret these as intrusive. So say
can bring out characteristics in people they ‘What’s going on?’ and not ‘Why are you always
would not otherwise display. late to work?’ It’s a good idea to remember that
If you approach a difficult person with a list of not everyone is you: you might think someone
demands that they change their behaviour, the is lacking in motivation when they just don’t
chances are they will dig in even further. All understand the company’s strategy or that
humans have a tendency to rationalise their own someone is a nit-picker when they are trying to
actions. However, if you refrain from judging or be helpful. So don’t judge people by your own
making assumptions about the other person, personal standards which may be unrealistic
but focus on achieving a solution in the spirit of or irrelevant. Think about how obstructive
co-operation, it is much more likely that they will behaviour might be serving someone’s needs:
respond positively – eventually. Start by finding for example, a person who is always gossiping
common ground on which you can both agree might be lonely and need more human
– for example that you want this project to be interaction – not just looking to avoid work.

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Communicating at work 05

2 Work in groups. Your teacher will give you some information about difficult colleagues. Decide
what the reasons for their behaviour might be and how you should deal with them.
The following language may be useful.
Discussing problems Saying what you want to happen
This might be due to … Personally, I think we should …
It’s possible that s/he … I’m in favour of …
One thing that worries/concerns me is … I think the priority here is to …
… is causing problems I feel that we should …
3 Report back to the group.
4 Do you have any personal experiences of difficult colleagues? Describe their behaviour and see
if your colleagues can offer reasons for it and offer advice on how to deal with them.

Review

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