--- description: And how to figure out if the problem colleague is actually you title: Problem Colleagues and How to Deal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc47ff68686c8bc4f/6988c19f4dd2152324efe6b7/book-in-brief-the-schmuck-my-office-jody-foster.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Work](/tag/work/) ## Work Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Problem Colleagues and How to Deal by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2017 10:10 AM CUT  by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2017 10:10 AM CUT We all have at least one [co-worker](http://time.com/money/4656910/how-to-deal-when-your-boss-is-a-complete-narcissist/ "undefined") whose behavior gets under our skin. In [_The Schmuck in My Office_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/125007567X/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Jody J. Foster and Michelle Joy identify 10 problem [personalities](http://time.com/money/4424146/annoying-office-personalities/ "undefined") and outline effective ways to handle each of them. If you work with a [narcissist](http://motto.time.com/4674518/social-media-narcissism-mistakes/ "undefined") 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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4728295/schmuck-office-book-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4728295/schmuck-office-book-review/"},"headline":"Problem Colleagues and How to Deal","datePublished":"2017-04-06T10:10:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:15:01.507Z","description":"Lessons from two psychiatrists","url":"https://time.com/4728295/schmuck-office-book-review/","keywords":["Work","Books","The Office"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc47ff68686c8bc4f/6988c19f4dd2152324efe6b7/book-in-brief-the-schmuck-my-office-jody-foster.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc47ff68686c8bc4f/6988c19f4dd2152324efe6b7/book-in-brief-the-schmuck-my-office-jody-foster.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"book-in-brief-The-Schmuck-My-Office-Jody-Foster","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/work/","name":"Work"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4728295/schmuck-office-book-review/","name":"Problem Colleagues and How to Deal"}}]}] ```