From the course: Working with Difficult People

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Responding to bad habits at work

Responding to bad habits at work

From the course: Working with Difficult People

Responding to bad habits at work

Let's dive into some of the specific types of problematic behaviors that are common at work. The first one we'll talk about is bad habits. Now, of course, we all have bad habits, but when people's bad habits spill into the workplace, they can cause problems and strain relationships. Common examples of bad habits are things like chronic lateness, procrastination, gossiping, or being disorganized. Remember our scale for understanding levels of difficult behavior from a few movies ago? I would classify bad habits as a Level 2 behavior on that scale, because many are changeable with self-awareness and effort. In many cases, the person wants to change but might not be sure how, or they might be willing to change but not realize their behavior is a problem. So start by assessing the person's level of insight. Let's use the example of someone who keeps showing up late to your one-on-one meetings, and you're starting to feel resentful that your time isn't being respected. How should you…

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