Many employees often wind up spending a great deal of time with their co-workers. As such, it is only natural to hope that friendships in the workplace can be established. But what happens when you can’t be sure if a co-worker is someone you can trust? Or what if they act like a friend at times, but at other times seem to only look out for themselves? Follow these guidelines for dealing with a “frenemy” at work.
Don’t trust people too easily. Just because a person acts friendly towards you or helps you out at work doesn’t mean they are your best buddy all of a sudden. Friendships take time to develop.
Avoid gossip. People will act friendly toward you to get information out of you then turn around and use that information to their advantage. Avoid this pitfall by holding off on gossiping about other employees and situations related to work. There is no upside to talking about people behind their backs.
Stay away from group work. If you really aren’t sure if you can trust someone, it is best to not work with them on key projects. If working together is optional, it is ok for you to say that you would prefer to tackle the work by yourself.
Consider all the angles. Some people really do only care about making themselves look good. When you are trying to determine someone’s motivation for the way they are acting, take a look at the big picture and try to see how acting like a friend to you might pay off for them.
Be willing to confront co-workers. Oftentimes, a person who acts friendly but does hurtful things behind your back does so because there are no consequences to their actions. Confronting them can bring the situation to a head. Doing so in a respectful and appropriate manner could resolve the issue permanently.