Our day to day workplace situations play an important role in our happiness at work. These situations can even drive us to the point of quitting our jobs, if not handled in the right way. Here are some common situations that we encounter at work and possible ways to deal with these situations.
1. You are denied a raise at work
A flurry of emotions seep through you when you are denied a raise at work – anger, frustration, entitlement and the stories start churning in your head. It is important to not react on the spot. Set up a meeting with your supervisor to understand what prevented them from giving you the raise. Also do some data gathering to understand company policies around raises. Unless you have the right data points, you cannot arrive at the right conclusions or make an informed decision. After gathering all the data points you possibly can, if you feel you are rightfully entitled and you were not treated fairly, you can then decide how to move forward. Some possibilities include : aiming to get the raise in the next review cycle, having an open conversation with your supervisor, weighing the pros and cons of staying with your current company or moving to a new workplace.
2. You receive a bad performance review
Does the review give you details on the performance? What aspects of your performance caused you to get a bad review? If not, seek input. You can always ask for a 1:1 meeting to get the details. Get exact situations and examples of your bad performance. Also, what are the expectations for your role? Do you meet those expectations truly? If there are things you can clarify because your actions were misinterpreted, go ahead and do so. If not, put yourself in your reviewer’s position and see it from their view point.
3. You get an angry email from a colleague
This is one of those workplace situations that can easily spiral into a completely negative experience. Is there something that you did wrong to cause the anger? Is this person just blowing off some steam? Is there truth to what is written in the email? If so, apologize to the person and explain the intent of your actions. If not, keep calm and seek clarity and offer ways to rectify the situation.
4. You find out a coworker is gossiping about you
Gossip is inevitable in the workplace. If the gossip undermines you and is derogatory, you can talk directly to the person and express your feelings and request the gossiper to refrain from doing so. If the gossiper does not pay heed, you can take the matter up with HR. If it is casual gossip, evaluate if it is worth your time and effort to stop it when you are aware that people will gossip no matter what.
5. Your coworker pushes her work onto you
Is this a one-off situation? Is your coworker in a bind? If so, you may be able to help your coworker out this one time. If this is a recurring situation and you are aware that your coworker does this often, you can let you coworker know about the work on your plate and how you are unable to help them out. In extreme situations, you can bring it up with your supervisor.
What other workplace situation have you come across commonly and how have you dealt with it?
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