One thing to bear in mind is that difficult co-worker exists in all sphere and profession, irrespective of where you find yourself, you will surely meet a difficult person and situation but what determine the break is your self-esteem and self-confidence.

Difficult people come in different variety; some must have the finals say, some attack you directly and look for faults, some compete with you for power and spotlight and the likes.

You might be wondering why must I cope with them when I can quit the job? It isn't feasible to quit every time you experience or meet one, the best solution is to deal with it because no matter where you go, there is 99% chance you will meet someone difficult or more, it will not necessarily be your co-workers, it might be your boss, customer/client or landladies/landlords and tenant or even your family members.

Below are tips on dealing with difficult workers

1. Examine Yourself
Firstly, you need to examine yourself to be sure; you are not at fault and not overreacting and this problem is from the other person, not you before you start pushing blames.

2. Keep Calm
When you are angry about something been done to you or a neglected work be calm, call from within calmness. Don't react or flare about everything been done to you, look at with another eye. Have this in mind once you react angrily, you trigger the person to react. Someone calm is seen to be in control of the position and respected.

3. Learn To Ignore
Bear in mind that it is not everything you react to, there is something that is best ignored. Not every statement you should digest and react to. Get on with your daily activities and interact with the person when needed.

4. Understand Intentions
Don't be quick to act, learn to study the person and understand the point he/she is bringing out and also their perspective. Not everyone is difficult for the sake of being difficult, at times there is always a situation to it and some might be passing aggresion.

5. Report To The Authority
When you try your best to make peace and the person is indifferent, escalate to your manager to report the situation and let him/her know you attempted to make peace, till know changes.

Source: https://guardian.ng