If you have a job where you are surrounded by a bad atmosphere. With conflicts, discussions and even reproaches between colleagues, you may have to apply some of the guidelines that we now offer you, so that you can carry out your work without being affected by your surroundings, and also that you find solutions to alleviate tensions. Let’s see below a step guide in which we explain How to survive a hostile work environment.
We can all find ourselves immersed in a work environment in which tensions are constant and although the main problem of this situation will be a low or poor productivity, in the long run it may happen that it affects us to the point of ending stress or anxiety. So let’s see what we can do.
Steps to survive a hostile work environment
- How to survive in a hostile work environment? First, you must distinguish between those that may be contingent problems, with colleagues or leaders, due to situations and criticisms of the moment, so that a difficult work environment will be produced for a certain group of people, at attitudes that are more serious than can also be described as mobbing. Once you have an idea of the reason for your problem, you can implement strategies to deal with the hostile work environment and also evaluate any legal action.
- A good starting point is assess your self-esteem at work, which should not be affected by colleagues and circumstances: if you believe in yourself and in your abilities, you will be more resistant and you can mobilize your internal resources to face adversity.
- On the other hand, you can create rituals and moments to get rid of nervousness and frustration, such as take care of plants in the office, go to an isolated place, maybe outdoors and breathe slowly or show positive images.
- If the hostility comes from grumpy and critical colleagues, you can try to catch them with own irony, for example, thanking them for what they say.
- In addition to what you can do, an important element to survive in a hostile environment is the relationship with colleagues that are valid If there are, those who share your opinions or who are themselves harassed can be a force that can oppose and isolate the disturbing elements.
- You must create your own atmosphere of harmony within the hostile work environment. For this it will be good too not be part of conflicts that have nothing to do with your professional work, avoid confronting people who in themselves seek to discuss anything related to what you do at work or be part of groups in which you only “gossip” about that existing bad environment.
- Finally, you should always try to document what happens to you, what happens and the abuse you suffer (if any), to demonstrate that you are right, so that you can take any legal action in this regard.