How To Develop Empathy For Someone Who Annoys You

SKIP TO CONTENTHarvard Business Review LogoEmotional intelligenceHow to Develop Empathy for Someone Who Annoys You

by Rebecca Knight

April 23, 2018vincent tsui for hbr

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When someone you work with annoys you, it’s tempting to avoid the person as much as possible. But this isn’t always feasible and often only makes the situation worse. You’re better off cultivating some empathy. How can you do that with a colleague who rubs you the wrong way? How can you foster curiosity instead of animosity?

Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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Read more on Emotional intelligence or related topics Collaboration and teams and Managing conflicts

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