Problem Colleagues and How to Deal

We all have at least one co-worker whose behavior gets under our skin. In The Schmuck in My Office, Jody J. Foster and Michelle Joy identify 10 problem personalities and outline effective ways to handle each of them.

If you work with a narcissist who makes everything about her own accomplishments, for example, be liberal with your praise and sandwich criticism between compliments. If your colleague is the suspicious type, paranoid that others are causing problems for him, offer a choice between alternatives to help him feel in control. And if your boss is an obsessive bean counter, cite how you “corrected” your work based on her suggestions so she feels heard.

That the authors are both psychiatrists lends credibility to their advice, which includes: “If in workplace after workplace you can’t get along with your colleagues, something is wrong … Go get the mirror. Hurry.”