By Griselda Togobo

I had the privilege of hearing Haemin Sumin speak at the BBC Freethinking Festival in Gateshead. A lady in the audience asked him about dealing with toxic people at work and his response is one that I feel we can all benefit from.

He told the story of walking in the park and coming across a lovely white adorable puppy. The puppy is so cute that you want to stroke it, so you reach out to give it a cuddle. Immediately the dog starts to bark. This cute puppy is no longer cute. It looks mean and dangerous and so you decide not to give it a cuddle. You turn to walk away but then notice that the puppy was barking because it was caught in a trap! It was bleeding and hurt, that’s why it was barking and not because it didn’t like you.

He then went on to explain that most toxic people are dealing with some kind of challenge or hurt which is driving their behaviour. Thinking about them this way helps us to empathise with them and also not to take their toxic actions seriously; it says more about them, than it says about us.

So if you work with a toxic colleague, clients or in an environment where people tend to lash out for no reason, just bear in mind that they may be wounded.

So what’s the practical application of this in the workplace of the lady once she was told this tale?

Avoid toxic people if you can – they are wounded and will lash out at anyone who comes too close. If you can’t avoid them, then learn to set boundaries that will enable you to maintain an emotional distance from these people.

Let’s hear from you. How do you manage toxic people and what strategies have you used to cope?

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