Dealing With Disruptive Co-workers

Some people need quiet to concentrate while others embrace noise or talking as part of the creative process. Everyone is different. What do you do if an employee is disruptive and upsetting co-workers. The first step is to figure out whether the employee’s behavior is just annoying or if it really does interfere with co-workers ability to to their job. Some people may be more sensitive or intolerant if they are unhappy in their jobs, under a lot of stress or dealing with personal issues. They may be more prone to find something wrong with a co-workers behavior.

Talking too loud on the phone is a common annoyance and can be disruptive to everyone around including your optical customers.  Often colleagues don’t realize they are creating problems and are willing to make changes. Explain to the employee that his or her behavior is interfering with others’ ability to do their job. The talk does not have to be uncomfortable. Make it about work, not personal issues, and frame comments by using “I” instead of “you” to avoid criticizing or offending . Dealing with disruptive co-workers quickly keeps everybody happy and can let you know about problems you may have been unaware of.

Non-disruptive OWA event attendees except for the one in the middle!

Speaking of being disruptive, at the OWA event on Friday in New York, people were talking and having a good time while the presentations were going on and it was almost impossible to hear what was being said. I was quite impressed when one of the presenters asked very firmly for the group to quiet down and they did, only for about 60 seconds but they were not offended and they did try to be less disruptive! You just have to ask nicely and ask more than once!

From left to right:

• Sherrie Rogerson – DoctorsVision Center
• Cathy Ciccolella – Jobson
• Cathy Ives – The Optical Vision Site
• Ann Englert and Grady Culbreth

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