Act blur colleague

Act blur
"Pretend to be ignorant, feign ignorance."

Examples of acting blur:
  • Pretending to not hear the instruction and hence not completing task
  • Pretending that he/she does not know that certain tasks has to be done 
  • Pretending that he/she thought someone else would complete task
  • Pretending that he/she don't know how to do anything because he/she is new in the office 

Seriously all these people should consider an acting career cos they can play pretend better than our local actors.

It is not a surprise if you have colleagues who act blur and play the blame game pretty well when things go wrong. It can be really annoying but there are definitely ways to counter this.


1. Check yourself out
Before you point at others, better make sure that you have no soft spots to be picked upon. If you also have this act blur tendency, then read and reflect.


2. Expectations
Check if your expectations are realistic. Is it normal to expect your colleague to know what you are thinking without communicating it? No, because not everybody has common sense. *important lesson*


3. Recognise your triggers
Know what makes you pissed so that when it happens, you are more aware and hence more able to control your damn temper. When this happens, find a method to cool yourself down (we don't want even more office drama - reflects worse on yourself than the idiot).

My no. 1 trigger is when people giggle when acting blur. I usually drink water or use the washroom when I am pissed.


4. Realise that you cannot like anyone
There is nothing in this world that everyone absolutely likes or dislikes - some people hate chocolate and others like durians (just check out our current political scene and you get the point). Similarly, there are some colleagues whom you just dislike. And once you dislike someone, every little shit about that person is going to irk you.

Is a mole frustrating to look at? No.
But is the mole on his/her forehead annoying the hell out of you? Maybe?

It is important to be aware so that you can be rational when dealing and feeling about this colleague. It is not professional to dislike the colleague because of something not work related i.e. he/she uses pink stationery only. 


5. You are better than them
My boss used to say this to comfort me when I was pissed at lousy colleagues, "Some people just have a limit to their abilities, there is just so much potential they can reach." + "You can't teach stupid people how to be smart". I guess that was how she climbed up the career ladder?

But it is true - people who act blur may think that they are working smart, but at the end of the day, the smoke is going to clear and the bosses will see their empty shells.

Good news is that you have one less colleague to compete against for the promotion.


6. Focus on yourself
Instead of being angry at how lousy or act blur your colleague is, spend the energy to better yourself. What's the point fretting about someone you can't change?

If you and your colleague hate each other's guts, then be as happy as you can - happiness is the best revenge.


7. Confront and empower
This is the most direct (and also scary) way to solve the issue. Just tell the person how you feel! Instead of saying "Can you stop acting blur?!", try something like

  • "I like it when we work as a team..."
  • "I enjoy it when your strengths support my flaws, like..."
  • "I think I need more help in this..."
  • "Your expertise would definitely help the team in this aspect..."
  • "I really appreciate it when you did this well..."

Try to give your colleague some sense of achievement and sense of team spirit. This could help him/her to be more confident and commit more into the job.

Also, note that the phrases point back to "me" or "I" instead of "you". It is important to let your colleague know you feel, and the pain lessens when you refer to yourself instead of pointing fingers. You never know, you could inject some guilt in your colleague for dumping work onto you.


8. Confront authority
If all else fails, just tell your boss. You are not the boss so your colleague may not listen to you (some people just need to hear words from the higher-ups). You may sound like a bitch for gossiping about your colleague (depends on your boss' impression on you and how often you do this), so be wary of this method.

If you are the boss, just sack the person.


HOPE THIS HELPS