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Cliques Insults Conflict Self-Insight

I work at a company in a position that I love, and my superiors are just wonderful. I work alone, but the problem is the co-workers. Some of them play games and say things to me that are hurtful, and others just ignore me. I talk to my co-workers but I don't get very far. I would like to get along better. What should I do?



When you have game-playing co-workers who say hurtful things or just ignore you, perhaps the real question is whether you even want to be friends with these people. It is possible that you are in a work environment composed of closed little groups with closed little minds.

At the same time, when there is a personality conflict between you and all of your co-workers, it may also be helpful to take an honest look at yourself. Is there anything about your behavior that may be annoying your co-workers? If you are uncertain in this area, perhaps you should ask for feedback from some of your personal friends.

Another step that can help in this type of environment is for you to try to befriend the informal leaders among your associates. Once they become friendly with you, the rest of the troops are likely to follow.

You should also look around the organization for some other co-workers. It is possible that there are some friendly employees out there who do not click with the cliques.




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