Monika Khetarpal works with a media house in Delhi. She was always the first to come up with ideas and work on them, but one of her colleagues was constantly checking in on her. She would later ask to pitch in and do every project jointly. “Initially it was alright, but slowly, I realised that if I can handle the work alone, why should I allow anyone else to take credit, especially if there’s not much value addition that he or she is making?” Such people exist in every organisation. Here’s how you can handle the “nosey parkers”, says Mahima Puri.
Simply Ignore Them
Initially, one of the best ways to deal with such people is to ignore them. If they repeatedly approach you or bother you online, try and ignore them as much possible. However, be careful. While you may ignore a person who is either your subordinate or your peer, it is not such a good idea to ignore a snoopy senior.
Keep Safe Distance
If ignoring is possible and if you do not prefer being rude to the person, it is better to communicate less with him. This does not mean you do not talk to him at all, but communicate more during lunch and tea breaks, where talking about work is not preferred by many. It worked for Viren Kumar, a BPO employee, who used to communicate with his snoopy colleague during lunch hours only. “I knew he would not mention work much during that hour as he himself was against it. So I used to have lunch with him but go for tea breaks with other colleagues. It usually worked,” he said.
Don’t Encourage It
Avantika Khanna works with a Delhi-based designer. She knew she was among the few budding designers in the team and was often appreciated by her chief designer. However, one of her colleagues started getting insecure after Avantika joined the team. He would regularly interfere in her work and examine her designs even before they could be completed. “I feared he would take away the credit for my work. So the moment he would come up to me asking about my work, my only reply was, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’ The good part was I was not answerable to him, so he gradually stopped being snoopy,” she said.
Tell Them off Politely
In certain cases, it can be a good idea to communicate to your colleagues that they are being snoopy. But it’s equally important to be polite. “Tell them if you need their help, you will come to them,” says Viren. “Hopefully, they will get the message.” On the other hand, if you are being rude, it may backfire and project you as someone who does not believe in team work. Don’t let them think that.
Approach the Boss
This should be the last resort, but if your colleague is being too interfering, you can tell the boss that you can mange alone. “There’s a risk, especially if the nosey one is your boss’ favourite, but you need to decide where to draw the line,” says Avantika. However, one should be careful because the move could send all sorts of negative signals to the boss. For instance, Avantika didn’t tell her boss she wanted the colleague off the project, but managed to convince her that she would like to take up the task as a challenge and see if she could do it alone. In case she could not and needed help, she would ask her colleague. “It worked!”, she says.
(15-04-2011, Mumbai, The Economic Times)
Simply Ignore Them
Initially, one of the best ways to deal with such people is to ignore them. If they repeatedly approach you or bother you online, try and ignore them as much possible. However, be careful. While you may ignore a person who is either your subordinate or your peer, it is not such a good idea to ignore a snoopy senior.
Keep Safe Distance
If ignoring is possible and if you do not prefer being rude to the person, it is better to communicate less with him. This does not mean you do not talk to him at all, but communicate more during lunch and tea breaks, where talking about work is not preferred by many. It worked for Viren Kumar, a BPO employee, who used to communicate with his snoopy colleague during lunch hours only. “I knew he would not mention work much during that hour as he himself was against it. So I used to have lunch with him but go for tea breaks with other colleagues. It usually worked,” he said.
Don’t Encourage It
Avantika Khanna works with a Delhi-based designer. She knew she was among the few budding designers in the team and was often appreciated by her chief designer. However, one of her colleagues started getting insecure after Avantika joined the team. He would regularly interfere in her work and examine her designs even before they could be completed. “I feared he would take away the credit for my work. So the moment he would come up to me asking about my work, my only reply was, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’ The good part was I was not answerable to him, so he gradually stopped being snoopy,” she said.
Tell Them off Politely
In certain cases, it can be a good idea to communicate to your colleagues that they are being snoopy. But it’s equally important to be polite. “Tell them if you need their help, you will come to them,” says Viren. “Hopefully, they will get the message.” On the other hand, if you are being rude, it may backfire and project you as someone who does not believe in team work. Don’t let them think that.
Approach the Boss
This should be the last resort, but if your colleague is being too interfering, you can tell the boss that you can mange alone. “There’s a risk, especially if the nosey one is your boss’ favourite, but you need to decide where to draw the line,” says Avantika. However, one should be careful because the move could send all sorts of negative signals to the boss. For instance, Avantika didn’t tell her boss she wanted the colleague off the project, but managed to convince her that she would like to take up the task as a challenge and see if she could do it alone. In case she could not and needed help, she would ask her colleague. “It worked!”, she says.
(15-04-2011, Mumbai, The Economic Times)
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