98% of Workers have to Deal with Difficult People says Survey

A massive 98% of managers across the UK say they come into contact with difficult work colleagues on a regular basis according to a new survey commissioned by top UK training company - PTP Training & Marketing.

Half the sample - which was made up of more than 250 senior professionals - say they encounter difficult people on a daily basis with just under one in ten claiming this is an hourly occurrence! And despite the scale of the problem only 15% of managers admit to confronting the member of staff who is being difficult.

The survey highlights that the person most likely to be labeled "difficult" is male, aged between 35 and 45 and working at a mid management level. However the results are a close run thing with 55% of respondents saying they think men are more likely to be difficult compared to 45% believing women are. Additionally there is little distinction in age and position. While 36% of the sample believe the 35-45 age group are the worst culprits, 29% say the 45-55 year olds are the most difficult with 26% believing this tag belongs to the 25-35 age group. It is only the under 25s and over 55s who largely escape the 'difficult' description.

What is clearer is that those working at both mid management and mid admin levels are the most likely to present difficult behavior compared to those working in a senior capacity. A quarter of respondents consider the most difficult people are to be found at mid management level compared to just 16% at senior level. Similarly 19% thought mid level administrators the most difficult compared with 12% of senior level administrators. Junior managers also score highly in the "difficult" ranks earning 21% of the vote while junior admin workers and non office/blue collar workers are seen as the least difficult people in a working environment.

While only 15% of senior professionals confront the difficult people they meet, well over half the sample (55%) claim they would try to help the difficult person by discussing any problems. However, at the other end of the scale 30% do nothing constructive and say they resort to "putting up with or ignoring" the difficult people in the office.

When asked why they think people are difficult at work the three most popular explanations are that "they are not team players", "they are insecure and lack confidence in their own abilities" and "they are stressed and under a lot of pressure". Other responses include "dissatisfaction with work and status and feeling under-valued", "no people or communication skills" and "too much self importance".

PTP managing director Marc Holland says managers must possess the necessary people skills to deal effectively with difficult people who can be a considerable barrier to office harmony, motivation and performance. He comments:

"It is important to be able to identify difficult personality types and be able to respond to them in a constructive way. A well-trained manager should be able to spot which personality types are likely to clash and can use their skills to diffuse situations, which could get out of hand and cause bad feeling and problems among staff. Good people skills are a vital management tool and can clearly help managers deal with specific issues associated with difficult people such as anger, upset and unresponsiveness."

PTP has a head office in Leicester and 50 training bases across the UK. For more information call 0845 6603860 or log on to www.ptp.co.uk

23 August 2005