Think of your co-workers. How many of them do you consider to be difficult? Did at least one person come to mind?

Unfortunately, difficult people cost us a lot. Yes, they cost money in terms of lost time and productivity. But perhaps more importantly, they cause us to lose our minds … or feel like it, anyway. It's easy to become a victim of difficult people, but you can do something. You can keep your sanity and increase productivity by managing difficult people so the damage they cause is reduced, as we explain in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

First, let's talk about the physical and mental impact of dealing with a difficult coworker. Unfortunately, it only takes one very difficult person to affect your enjoyment of your job, your stress level and your ability to do your work. If you have an extremely difficult employee, co-worker or boss, each time you deal with his or her difficult actions, your heart rate goes up and your blood pressure can escalate. That's not healthy.

In addition, it's hard to take a work break from difficult people. They not only intrude upon your workday, but your personal life as well. It's simply hard to take a mental break from their wrath.

Not only do difficult people have a negative effect on your physical and mental health, but they also cost you in terms of being able to do your own job properly. If you spend time every day fixing the damage done by a difficult person, you are not doing the other things you need to do as part of your job. That can make you look bad to your boss. At minimum, losing time to difficult people is frustrating.

As difficult as some people may be to work with, they may also be able to help you see things others may not. Here are two strategies to try:

The Canary—Difficult But Handy. Difficult people can serve as canaries in a mine. In the old days, miners used to bring birds down in the mines with them because they were more sensitive to poisonous gases than human beings. When the birds started squawking, it was time to fix the problem, and fast!

Difficult people may be a bit more sensitive to important things occurring in the workplace that need to be addressed. While the way they say things may be abrasive, what they have to say may be helpful and important. Getting the best from difficult people involves managing them, not ignoring them. It means separating the content from their tone and difficult ways.

Looking In The Mirror—Difficult People Can Help. Because difficult people sometimes lack the social graces and courtesies the rest of us have, they say things that have the power to provoke us to look in the mirror and see ourselves in different ways. That allows us to change and improve.

In other words, they say things others won't. They provide a mirror to look at ourselves in ways we might otherwise miss. Of course, that's only if they have some useful insights and if we can stand to be around them long enough to actually listen. Again, we come back to the importance of managing difficult people to enhance their value and reduce their destructiveness.

Try these strategies the next time you face a difficult person; you might be surprised by their transformation.

Source: Robert Bacal began his career in education as a teaching assistant at Concordia University. Since then he has trained teachers for the college and high school level, taught at several universities and trained thousands of employees and managers in customer service, conflict management and performance appraisal and performance management skills.