Dealing with coworker who can be best described as an "instigator"

[n64bomb]

I recently started as a floater, and I had one person at a store I float at complain and make exaggerations/outright lies about me from that day to make me look bad. The person said nothing to my face. Also, the technicians at that store already have a lot of drama day to day.

What way do you deal with a passive aggressive person who won't say anything to you if he/she needs help, but then will complain later? Or who exaggerates a situation or what you said to make you look bad, when what you said was significantly different?

I am thinking to just be as boring as I can be with the instigator, as he/she needs negative energy to feed from. I am going to be friendly and professional, but be boring and try to minimize contact with that person as much as possible, and just be curt and professional.

Let me know what you guys have done before. I prefer to not go immediately to the pharmacy manager and get the person in trouble; if I have an issue with a person, I like to try to resolve it by addressing it with that person first.

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[wazoodog]

I was once in a similar situation. The most useful advice someone gave me was to reflect deeply about how I was portraying myself that might encourage the person to treat me this way.

 

[DH1987]

I'd say, next time you work with him, pull him to the side away from everyone and have a chat. Don't be overly confrontational, just try to talk it over and try to find common ground. Something like, "Hey, it appears you have some disagreements with me. Can we talk about it a little and try to work things out? What is it that I'm doing that bothers you?"

Try to keep things civil, don't argue with anything he says, just listen and try to think objectively from his perspective, and give him your objective thoughts on his feedback. Try to work together to find common ground.

This is why as a floater, it's wise to keep some documentation as to what happens on your shifts, especially if it's a store you have problems at. Especially document what happens if you guys end up falling behind for whatever reason. You should also document your conversation with him so you can bring it up to management if things don't go well.

 

[Deja]

get everyone else at the store to LOVE you and ostracize the instigator lol

 

[owlegrad]

It’s hard to know what advice to give without more details. How do you know this person is badmouthing you? Secondhand reports I assume. So like the classic game of telephone you don’t know how accurate the information you are getting is and in all likelihood someone is probably trying to play up or increase the drama.

My advice is ignore any reports of what this person is saying about you and focus on doing your job well. If that isn’t possible my next piece of advice is to address your concerns with that person directly. If that fails I suggest you address your concern with your boss. That would be my absolute last step as it could make you look like a troublemaker and could have negative effects for you and/or the other person.

 

[JustFillIt]

get everyone else at the store to LOVE you and ostracize the instigator lol

This is usually what I do. It’s a game of thrones out there and you gotta be smart.

 

[El-Rami]

I'd say, next time you work with him, pull him to the side away from everyone and have a chat. Don't be overly confrontational, just try to talk it over and try to find common ground. Something like, "Hey, it appears you have some disagreements with me. Can we talk about it a little and try to work things out? What is it that I'm doing that bothers you?"

Try to keep things civil, don't argue with anything he says, just listen and try to think objectively from his perspective, and give him your objective thoughts on his feedback. Try to work together to find common ground.

This is why as a floater, it's wise to keep some documentation as to what happens on your shifts, especially if it's a store you have problems at. Especially document what happens if you guys end up falling behind for whatever reason. You should also document your conversation with him so you can bring it up to management if things don't go well.

Your advice is pretty sound, but it's unlikely that if indeed this other person is as the OP says that they will be a reasonable person to deal with. It sounds like a two-faced/back-stabber type of person who is just out to get the OP fired in order to get ahead.

 

[Sine Cura]

Start coughing aggressively when working together. Touch everything they touch or otherwise interact with Rudy Gobert style

 

[allantois]

Start coughing aggressively when working together. Touch everything they touch or otherwise interact with Rudy Gobert style

don’t forget to add that you tested positive!

 

[Sine Cura]

When asked, say "I don't know"