Are you thinking too much? (Image: Getty)

When you work from home, you lose face-to-face time and tone of voice.

If your default mode of communication with your employees consists primarily of email, Slack, and other forms of text-based communication, goodwill instead of functional chat may break down.

So you can deal with more passive attacks than before.

After all, it’s hard to argue or challenge the tone in a work environment, especially when reading from the screen.

This can backfire and make messaging certain co-workers or managers stressful and annoying. Especially if you expect nasty comments all the time.

Caroline Plumer, founder of the CPPC London therapy clinic, told .

“In some ways, direct feedback or the initial impact of an attack may seem more volatile, but at least we know where we stand and there is little room for misunderstanding.”

Passive aggression, on the other hand, can be confusing and stressful as you try to figure out if there’s a problem.

It can be very difficult to read the tone of an email or instant message, and you may wonder if a small part of it is real or imagined.

Email notification to phone

There are subtle ways to deal with that (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“You may also wonder if it is necessary to mention the sender or anyone else for fear that we have misunderstood.

All of this can affect your well-being at work and cause you to question your job and how this person directing passive aggression feels about you as a person.

Caroline adds:

“In cases like this, it’s worth first considering what kind of stress or strain you’re under and whether you’re particularly sensitive.

This helps us distinguish between what we are reading and what we are feeling. That is, if we conclude that external stressors are affecting the way we receive our messages.

However, more often than not, your instincts will be correct when the message wears off.

How to deal with passive-aggressive messages

While it may feel safe to raise the issue directly, there is a more nuanced course of action, as it is easy to deny one’s feelings towards a passive aggressor.

carolina says:

As with most sensitive situations, it helps to use “I” language, such as talking about how you feel and why it’s a concern, rather than what you think the other person has done. .

“Don’t react with passive aggression. This will only cause constant pain and cause even more stress.

“Take high ground instead. Not only can you end the day knowing you did your best, but the sender may find it difficult to maintain a negative tone unless it’s fun. There’s a nature.

Laura Kingston, career coach and director of Leap Career Coaching, says it’s best to deal with the problem one way or another, either with your partner or with yourself.

“It can be difficult to be on the receiving end of passive-aggressive communications, especially when you’re working remotely because you feel isolated, isolated, isolated from your team and colleagues,” he says.

“It can affect your health and cause you to overthink, feel self-doubt, feel stressed and anxious, and have trouble sleeping.

“We have to remember that when people are passive and aggressive, they are actually carrying their own insecurities and projecting them.

“It’s an organizational culture, and it can be a learned behavior based on how your manager treats you.”


A Guide to Managing Passive-Aggressive Work Messages

Laura recommends:

  • Don’t add meaning to your emails, read the facts – What does the email really say if you don’t add meaning to it? Overthinking also helps.
  • arrival Communication in person or by video call if you can.
  • A great way to highlight their behavior is to not confront ask open questions “I want to know what that means, please help me figure it out” or reflect on his words to understand how they stand. I don’t even know how it makes other people feel.
  • You can do it Talk to your manager and explain how their actions affect you A great way to figure this out is to focus on what you need and what it means to them.
  • If that doesn’t work, you can Escalate to human resources Or talk to another manager.

In some cases, a toxic work culture is so ingrained that trying to remedy the situation is futile.

If you choose not to negotiate, Caroline said:

Remember that the way the sender talks to you probably has more to do with the sender and the problem than with you or what you did.

“It also helps to recognize that they clearly suffer from a lack of ability and self-confidence to cope effectively.

“It’s not your fault, but empathy can get you out of a situation, especially if you try too hard.

“When you’re burned out or too tired, it’s hard to put things down.

“Try to take good care of yourself and manage your stress levels as much as possible, including basic daily routines like eating, sleeping and exercising.”

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