Dealing With Difficult Coworkers

Most engineering problems turn out to be people problems. These episodes cover coworkers who will not budge in technical discussions, credit taken for your work, teammates who go quiet, and how to disagree with someone you have to keep working with.

46 episodes of Soft Skills Engineering, the weekly advice podcast where Dave Smith and Jamison Dance answer software engineers' questions. Every episode is free, and each page below has the listener's question in full.

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Every episode about difficult coworkers

  1. Episode 514: Trust issues and underperformers and my coworker resents me for being faster
  2. Episode 508: My company is an unethical spammer and my coworkers take so much sick time
  3. Episode 485: I'm terrible at hiring decisions and my coworker spams us with AI-generated memes
  4. Episode 469: Passed over for lead role and perhaps I'm the jerk
  5. Episode 464: Rehiring an overpaid boomerang and AI has taken over my teammate's brain
  6. Episode 459: Am I cutting edge and how to compliment someone who went from super jerk to super nice
  7. Episode 445: Staying at my first job and my coworker is insulting other departments
  8. Episode 444: Surrounded by apathetic coworkers and put it on my resume?
  9. Episode 443: Does my PM hate me? and My coworker has anxiety when I help
  10. Episode 433: My teammate pretends we decided, but we didn't and my team is getting worse and worse
  11. Episode 421: Hitting the level cap and getting credit for behind-the-scenes work
  12. Episode 395: Super star teammate and Getting better with no financial incentives
  13. Episode 391: Post-staff and direct or a jerk
  14. Episode 371: After Mary Poppins and credit denied
  15. Episode 366: No FE work and my co-worker is a parrot
  16. Episode 339: Coworker double-dipping and building toxic community
  17. Episode 337: Helping the principal and Manager conflict
  18. Episode 301: I forced the framework and product stealing credit
  19. Episode 292: Haunted by former co-worker and awkward manager endorsement
  20. Episode 279: (Rerun of 220) Premature leadership push and credit and status
  21. Episode 252: Impossible documentation and unexcited coworkers
  22. Episode 249: Settling the Wild West and credit for self-study
  23. Episode 239: Hustle and patents and toxicity
  24. Episode 235: Bus factors and toxic time bomb
  25. Episode 224: Bad review from conflicted boss and questioning my career choices
  26. Episode 220: Premature leadership push and credit and status
  27. Episode 211: Biorhythm and coworker roommate
  28. Episode 203: Downturns and conflict
  29. Episode 197: Rambling co-worker and awkward resume leak
  30. Episode 191: Overshadowed and demos and credit
  31. Episode 185: Fragile coworkers and soft demotion
  32. Episode 178: Procrastinating colleague and working remotely for an on-site company
  33. Episode 164: Fear of firing and disengaged teammates
  34. Episode 148: In the orbit of a Rock Star Programmer and Should I share my salary with my coworkers?
  35. Episode 146: What to do with sick co-workers who come into the office and dealing with weird performance review feedback
  36. Episode 138: Should I ask for a raise before my annual review and how to keep up with young, single, overtime-working co-workers
  37. Episode 131: Coworkers with stinky feet and Was my salary expectation too high
  38. Episode 123: Salary Promise Fail and Slacker Coworkers
  39. Episode 111: Dogma Rehab and Getting a Co-worker Fired
  40. Episode 108: An Insecure Teammate and Disclosing Past Ratings
  41. Episode 105: Interviewing for Management and Annoying Noises
  42. Episode 98 (Rerun of Episode 57): Disliking Management and Difficult Co-workers
  43. Episode 87: Pushover Coworkers and Productivity Metrics
  44. Episode 85: Annoying Know-it-alls and Company Headshots
  45. Episode 57: Disliking Management and Difficult Co-workers
  46. Episode 39: Brilliant Jerks and One on Ones

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Browse all 527 episodes or ask Dave and Jamison your own question.