Watch your ways at work
Yuki Noguchi

SAY someone in the next cubicle routinely hawks up phlegm and spits it ceremoniously into the wastebasket. Or hacks a raspy cough, then sneezes with mouth uncovered. Or clips toenails.

Gag. Sometimes you're forced to say to yourself: "If he/she does that one more time, I may get violent."

At what point is being gross unacceptable? What do you do when change is not within your control?

A combination of management and self-management helps, says Miriam Bamberger, a coach on workplace issues:

• Determine what is bothering you and whether it is controllable. Think about realistic remedies, and choose a course of action.

• Peer-to-peer issues are often better handled by a manager, who might mediate or relocate the parties.

• If that fails, self-manage. Ask yourself if you have similar annoying habits — that's one way to gin up sympathy for other people.

Instead of telling yourself how annoyed you are, try to focus on the task before you. "Put a new mental tape in," Bamberger recommends.

— LA Times-Washington Post