Tips to avoid falling victim to office rudeness

Gossiping, bullying and backstabbing are not only limited to high schools, they're also common in workplaces.

According to a recent article published in the Harvard Business Review, half of workers have revealed that they're treated rudely at their job at least once a week, up from just a quarter in 1998, Fox News reported.

Researchers, who polled 800 managers and employees in 17 industries, found that being the victim of office rudeness led to decreased effort, quality of work, and time spent on the job.

More shockingly 12 per cent of people said that they left their jobs because of it, the study reported.

But people don't tend to report it, mainly out of a sense of hopelessness or fear of potential repercussions, said study co-author Christine Porath, associate professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

Not only your work, these stressful situations can affect your mental and physical health, too. Therefore experts have suggested some tips to help you in such situations.

Whenever your colleague talk to you in a rudely manner, respond in a way that ends the conversation and shows her that you're totally unfazed. But keep your response polite and abrupt, suggested Marie McIntyre, author of Secrets to Winning at Office Politics.

"They want a reaction, but you don't want to give it to them," said McIntyre

If your colleague suddenly acts like you don't exist, then ask twice if they're upset with you, then move on.

"It's a passive-aggressive response. They want to let you know they're mad, but they're not comfortable talking about it," McIntyre said.

As a solution to this she suggested: Give them two chances to tell you what's up, then pretend to believe that they're "fine." You can even say without a hint of sarcasm.

Like a child throwing a tantrum, they'll eventually quit when they don't get what they want, she said.

... contd.

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