deepstash
Beta
Top 10 Uncomfortable Situations and How to Deal with Them
Talking About Taboo Subjects
- Stick to the facts and try to find common ground when discussing controversial subjects.
- Prevent money arguments with your partner or with anyone else by taking the emotion out of it and having a plan in place.
- Don’t engage people who just want to cause controversy.
199 SAVES
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
No matter how much you love your job, navigating workplace politics in any office can lead to a lot of awkward situations. We tackled most of them this year in our weekly Ask the Experts columns. Below we compiled 10 of the most common-and cringeworthy-scenarios with the hopes that in 2016, things can be a little more harmonious at work.
1
Key Idea
Awkward Work Scenarios
- Others taking credit for your work: speak up when presenting your joint ideas, else the boss will remember that the other was the one who did all the talking.
- Overanalyzing your tone or watering down criticism: understand the difference between sounding arrogant and assertive.
- Noisy coworkers: work somewhere else in the office or record the noises that you make during a workday—maybe the noises aren’t as bad as you think.
- Beign interrupted during meetings: to speak with authority and presence you need to feel worth listening to, and you can develop it for yourself.
- Making friends in the office: invite a coworker to lunch or ask to join a group of them. People are often happy to have new additions.
- Firing a hard worker that isn’t good enough: set clear benchmarks, and let them know what will happen if they don’t meet them.
- You want to leave early but others work late: talk to your boss if there is no reason for the extra time.
- Your employees don’t respect you: project confidence in your new role, then be specific and clear about your expectations.
- Interviewing while pregnant: it’s an opportunity to show your resourcefulness and preparation. Be ready with a plan for minimizing the impact of your absence.
- You don't want to attend to happy hour: try coming up with some time during work to bond–like lunch or family-friendly weekend events.
Years ago, I had a coworker-let's call him Mark-who wore a lot of cologne; so much that you could smell him coming. One morning, another coworker joked to our boss at the coffee station that Mark used enough Polo to choke the horse. That's when Mark walked in.
5
Key Ideas
Accidentally insulting someone
Maybe you sent a text or email to the wrong person that included a less than positive opinion of the person who just received it.
Don’t make up an excuse or try to backtrack; a candid conversation will lead to forgiveness much faster than a bunch of BS. Apologize only if you care. And if you don’t like someone, use the mistake to get them out of your life.
The lazy coworker
If you’re working with someone who isn’t pulling their weight, the key to solving this issue is to not give them too many chances.
Explain to your coworker that the project is important to you, and you want to make sure you both see things the same way. Also, talk about your needs instead of their faults.
Awkward conversations
At a party or conference where small talk with someone nearby becomes awkward:
- excuse yourself to get a drink/coffee.
- say “It’s nice talking to you, but I have to talk to someone before they leave.”
- if your conversation is on the phone, end it by saying, “I’d love to catch up, but I have somewhere to be.”
We all have socially awkward experiences, but what makes a social interaction so uncomfortable? Research has pointed to 10 kinds of experiences that are especially likely to make people feel awkward, and 6 things people can do to escape from the awkwardness (without just walking away) and feel comfortable again.
2
Key Ideas
Decreasing Awkwardness
- Find common interests and discuss them.
- Encourage others to talk about what interests them.
- Be gentle or help someone out, even if it is on a small thing.
- Say something nice about another person or something associated with another person without being phony.
- Acknowledge the awkwardness. This is especially effective if you can do it in a humorous way.
Situations That Lead To Awkwardness
- Walking into a room where you don't know any of the other people.
- Being in a situation in which you don't know what you are supposed to do.
- You are all talking amongst yourself and an unknown person approaches the group.
- When a conversation does not go smoothly.
- Discomfort around food.
- Invading someone else's personal space—or having your own space invaded.
- Not remembering someone or their name or not being remembered.
- Been put in the spotlight or when others start talking about you while you are in the same room.