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When a Colleague Refuses to Cooperate

Seated at her desk, Kayla was speaking to a client by phone but was unable to hear. Kayla’s cubical neighbors, who were having a lively discussion, drowned her client’s voice out. She wanted to ask them to lower their voices, but she hesitated. One of the women was known for her temper. Finally, though, Kayla grew tired of asking her client to repeat himself. So she turned to the women and politely asked them to keep the noise down. The short-fused coworker snapped back, “Well you didn’t lower your voice when I was talking on the phone the other day.”

Kayla, determined to keep things civil and get back to the client, said firmly, “You should have said something. I apologize for that. But for now I need you to lower your voice.” The woman complied.

Situations like that never resolve themselves properly unless you stand your ground. No colleague should interfere with your work and when you challenge their disruptive behavior the right thing for the person to do is to refrain immediately. But combative, stubborn colleagues will resent requests and refuse to comply. Kayla’s coworker wanted to pull her into a game of tit for tat, when all Kayla needed was a quieter room.

When you meet such resistance, calmly, directly, and firmly restate what you need. That is about the only way to knock a stubborn colleague off their very wobbly soapbox.