General discussion
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Topic
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Working Well With Others Put to the Test
LockedOk, so we’ve all uttered the same words in a job interview “..and I work well with others”. It’s just one of the many skills that employers are looking for these days. My question that I pose to the group is how do you react when actually posed with a situation that will challenge that statement?
I’ve always gotten along well with others and pride myself on my negotiation and conflict resolution skills. I am however faced with somewhat of an odd situation with one of my coworkers. The problem is quite simply the fact that he never shuts up. He takes it upon himself to interrupt myself and others from their work whenever he desires, and attempts to carry on a 30 minute conversation. His conversations are never about work, they always manage to revolve around him bragging about something or complaining about something. It’s gotten to the point that others flat out ignore him now. The problem is that of course he’s compensated for everyone ignoring him by simply talking more. I’ve taken it upon myself to take him aside and explain to him that we are at work to well “work” and that his tendency to carry on nonstop about himself is distracting. I’ve even flat out asked him on a couple of occassions to “please stop talking”. After our talk, he got better for a couple of days, and then started all over again. He now goes so far as to interrupt me even if I have my headhphones on listening to the radio and clearly appear to be busy.
I’ve considered going to our manager about it, but I know that he will question my ability to “work it out” amongst ourselves. What else can I try to get this guy to stop his talking? Are there any other things I can do or say to help this situation? It’s honestly affecting the teams ability to get work done. In addition, his nonstop talking make casual chat amongst the team “avoided at all costs” for fear of getting this guy started.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
RB