Not everyone is easy to work with. Follow these tips to help you work with five types of difficult co-workers.

• The Negative Nelly. Co-workers who see the cup as half empty make negative comments about almost everything. When these Negative Nellies voice concerns, ask for details. Press them to describe the problem and ask if they have solutions. They could raise valid points, so be careful about dismissing what they say.
• The competitor. Competitive co-workers don’t offer to help, could try to sabotage you, or take credit for your work. They might feel threatened by your success. Try to show them that you want to work with them, not against them. Don’t engage their competitive nature; focus on doing the best job you can. When you collaborate with a competitive co-worker, document your ideas and work as backup to ensure you receive credit for your work.
• The gossip. This co-worker likes to be in the know, and anything you say will be shared with others. If this co-worker tries to engage you in gossip, politely tell them you’d rather not talk about it or pretend you don’t have an opinion.
• The bully. Bullies pick on people, blame others, and make inappropriate comments. Try not to engage bullies; ignore them if you can. Save mean emails and make notes of bad behavior if you need to get HR involved.
• The work shirker. The work shirker pushes work on you and always needs help to finish projects. Talk to them and explain what parts of the project you are responsible for completing. If you can’t finish your work because you’re helping them, that’s a problem for you and the project.

For more advice, read “35+ Ways to Deal With Difficult Coworkers.”