Don’t you know that you’re toxic? Here’s how to handle a difficult colleague

Harold turned our office into a minefield, where any misstep could set him off.

Then there was Felicia – sweet and soft-spoken, but a lover of sowing discord. 

I admit to enjoying my fair share of office gossip back in the day, but when it came to workplace drama, Felicia was Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Inception – a master at planting ideas in people’s heads. She was also adept at spreading unfounded rumours and creating tension.

“Oh, I heard that Linda took credit for your work in front of the boss,” she’d say. “Can you believe that she got an off-in-lieu for that day we all worked overtime?”

Wherever Felicia went, an air of distrust followed. Conversations in the office started to feel loaded, and we started to be careful around her, and eventually, each other. 

But while their toxicity made blood boil and tension soar across the office, both Harold and Felicia were just so competent. They met their goals and did their work. 

Despite the emotional and mental pain of working with them, it was hard to find a justified reason to tattle on them to the boss.

Eventually, I saw no other way to escape the pain of it all other than to simply quit.

WHEN THE WORK IS GOOD BUT THE VIBES ARE BAD

If either Felicia or Harold were bad at their jobs, I would have pointed out their poor performance to my manager and the conversation would’ve been over. Bye, Felicia and Harold.

Unfortunately, real life is less obliging. Sometimes the person consistently delivering excellent work is also the person everyone dreads working with. The boss sees the results; everyone else sees the carnage it took to get there.