How To Deal With Workplace Drama

Drama has its place, such as reality television and soap operas, and we can all admit that we have engaged in it at one time or another. Most people enjoy some workplace drama because it keeps things interesting, but certain people thrive on it. It's never easy to get rid of or avoid drama-seeking behavior, but what if those toxic people are coworkers, supervisors, or clients you have to deal with on a regular basis? Let's look at what constitutes drama in the workplace and how to deal with it.

What is Drama?

Most of us can recognize it when we hear or see it. It can come in many ways. It’s the coworker that complains about their coworkers or boss daily. It’s the client that gives a backhanded compliment. It’s the boss that shows up late and then eats crunchy foods throughout the meeting. It can present as attention-seeking behavior, chronic negativity, or and behavior intended to incite a reaction.

How to Handle Workplace Drama as a Supervisor

Be A Good Example

If you don’t want to see workplace drama, then be a positive example. Check yourself before engaging in negativity or gossip. The team is looking to you to be an example.

Have Open Communication

Have a process for solving disputes. Provide opportunities to resolve issues amongst a team to avoid the need for complaining and gossiping amongst each other. This may not stop the avid drama enthusiast, but it allows others the option of referring the chronic offenders to the process for resolution, instead of perpetuating the cycle.

Shut It Down!

If there is a drama enthusiast amongst the bunch, they are usually pretty obvious. Make it clear that the behavior that they have demonstrated is not acceptable and allow an opportunity for them to improve. If the behavior continues, formal reprimands may be necessary, depending on the severity. Also, probationary periods are there for a reason. If they don’t fit the culture and are causing issues right away, perhaps it is time to part ways.

How to Handle Workplace Drama from a Coworker

Check Yourself First

If you are stressed or upset about other problems, you may be more sensitive to comments made by a coworker looking to make their afternoon more interesting with some drama. Check yourself first and make sure you’re not about to contribute to the situation.

Manage Your Reactions

Those that thrive on drama want to see the others around them get riled up. If you engage, it will just encourage them. If you need tips on mindfulness, see our post “Maintaining a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Small Business Owner”.

Don’t Do the Work for Them

Drama-seekers may also come up with problems or overexaggerate to claim they cannot solve an issue on their own. Do not solve their problems for them. Ask leading questions to get them pointed in the right direction or offer a suggestion of how they can solve it themselves. If you do the work for them, they will be back for more the next time they have attention seeking behavior.

Call Them Out

If their behavior is time consuming and/or upsetting, just say so. Let them know that their behavior is interfering with your work and well-being and ask them to stop. Professionally, of course.

How to Handle Workplace Drama from a Supervisor

Don’t Engage

Just like any other drama seeker, do not engage with the behavior. If they are being passive aggressive, just ignore it or simply leave the conversation. Especially, If it crosses boundaries that are inappropriate for your position, it may be time to seek some additional help. If professional meetings devolve into gossip sessions, it is appropriate to excuse yourself. It may seem awkward, but it will give you plausible deniability to whatever is being said and you can maintain some peace of mind by not feeling pressured to participate.

Document Everything

If your supervisor has a dramatic streak, it is easier to maintain professionalism through e-mail. It gives you the opportunity to check your emotions and maintain appropriate communication. It will also deter them from saying anything gossipy, and if it doesn’t, you have it in writing. Then if it continues to be an issue to the point of being a hostile work environment, you have proof.

Always Have a Witness

If the supervisor tends to start drama through gossip about coworkers, bring a buddy. They may be less likely to engage in the behavior with an audience and it provides you with a third party opinion. They can then be someone that can corroborate what was said in the event they try to manipulate your words. This won’t work all the time, but can be useful now and again.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy

If your supervisor is a reasonable person that may not recognize their behavior, you can try honesty. Explain to them that you are not interested in discussions about others, etcetera. Again, it’s good to have this in writing or with a witness, depending on their level of drama.

Go Over Their Head as a Last Resort

No one likes this solution, but sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes, those that are engaging in drama have other personality quirks that can be harmful to a work environment, such as favoritism or “punishing” those that disagree with them. When the drama is compounded by other factors or makes for a hostile work environment, it’s time to consider getting some assistance from their supervisor or from human resources.

Quit

This is a worse case scenario, but keep in mind, people don’t leave jobs, they leave supervisors. If it’s gone too far, find an environment that is right for you.

How to Handle Workplace Drama from a Client

Ignore It

If you don’t have to deal with them often, it may be easier to just ignore it and not engage in the behavior. If the behavior escalates or if they are offenses, continue to numbers 2 and 3.

Address the Issue in a Professional Manner

Be honest, especially if the client is overly judgmental of every step of a process and creating problems that don’t exist. If you have a contract or term of agreement, refer to those documents to support your statement.

Fire Them

How much drama are you willing to tolerate for what they are paying you? If they make up the lower 20% of your profits and they are a pain to deal with, fire them. It’s that easy. Send a professional message stating the reasons for the termination of service. Feel free to tell them that they are the reason for the termination and offer to have them back in the future if this problem can be remediated.

Workplace drama can be used to fuel productivity, but only to a point. When it starts to have a negative impact on your productivity, you now have some tools to help remedy the situation.