Case study. Dee was just not a people person. She preferred to work by herself, and her position at her company allowed her to do that most of the time. She valued her productivity and her ability to meet deadlines and exceeded expectations, and anything that got in the way of that was an annoyance. When she had to interact with coworkers throughout the day, she preferred to keep the interactions as brief as possible so she could get back to work. Her coworker, Angela, mentioned that people often found Dee unapproachable. “I’m just not wired to be social,” Dee told her. “I don’t relate well to others when I feel like they’re wasting my time. I’ve always been a loner. It just comes naturally to me.” Angela explained that she also preferred to focus on her tasks and work independently, but she had learned to relate to her coworkers so that she could have a more harmonious work experience. Angela encouraged Dee to try changing her approach to coworkers, to try to see them not as interruptions, but as fellow humans who are worth paying attention to. Dee decided to try this, though it was hard for her. The next time a coworker interrupted her while she worked, Dee tried to really listen to what he needed rather than rushing him out of her office. She realized that her coworkers often didn’t come to her until things were in crisis, because they found her distant. She then realized that cultivating better relationships was a way to prevent crises in the workday.
