No matter how you cut it, sooner or later, you will have a confrontation. this is what it is going to take to clear the air. you might inform your supervisor of this problem. then, you would be labeled a snitch, by the other coworkers. you are in a tough spot. i would hit this problem head on. first, i would give the rude coworker a warning, making a note of the date and time of warning. also, write down names of witnesses. you are building a case for future use. if the warning is not successful, then take your written information to your supervisor. you will be less likely labeled a snitch, if you first give a warning. in the workplace, many violent situations have exploded between workers and it all began with a personality conflict. trying to keep your cool, is a noble gesture. but, it will eat at you,,,,,inside/out. humans can only take so much, before the conflict turns into a disaster. please make a move, before this happens.

How to keep your cool. Okay, the first think I would think of is why is this person laying all this on me? It may be because you are lower down the chain of command (sorry, I’m a bit tired and can't think of the right phrase) or in his eyes, are "smaller" than him. The next thing would be, "what is really trying to say or do" Is there something deeper that is making his life miserable, and I’m just the doormat that takes the beating. If there is another issue in his life, you have the upper hand. People like the response to a putdown. If they don't get it, they push harder. Once you lower yourself to his level, then he has the upper hand. The original issue often has nothing to do with the following debate/argument. Don't give him the lead in the first place. To shut down the argument, ask closed questions (questions that require only a yes or a no) That puts the responsibility on him, if he wishes to continue the argument, to keep coming up with more material. (It’s like a comedian, and no one laughs at his jokes) Soon the debate will start to crumble. Another one is to agree with him. "Your right, I’ll work harder at it" it gives him the feeling that he's won the debate, but you know that he's talking through his you know where. The thing to do is not getting drawn into the argument. It's so easy for me to write this down, because I'm not there to see what’s happening and add advice. Unfortunately you are the one that this particular individual has chosen to pick on. I went through a lot of that both at school and in my first job. My next job was with customer service, where we where taught how to deal with people who are often lonely and just want to talk, are facing some kind of problem at home, and they don't know how to deal with it, or there just plain stupid. If you stop feeding the seagulls, they'll fly away and poo on someone else’s car!

Be polite and courteous. Always be nice to these people; especially. The reason is because chances are they are having emotional problems either at work, or in their personal lives and being rude doesn't get anyone anywhere fast! Try finding out what the problem is. You might say, "Hi, how are you doing today, you seem to be having a difficult time lately? Is there some way that I can help you?" By extending a few caring words, then you'll be amazed at how friendly even the rudest co-workers can become! If that doesn't work, then the only solution is simply ignore their rude behavior, be polite, and respectful and talk to them as little as possible. I hope this helps with your dilemma!

Befriend them.

I am a 47 year old male dealing with an extremely rude 22 year old female coworker. I am in a position that reqires me to talk to her several times a day and to communicate the days activities with her. I am not her immeadiate supervisor but when i speak to her she gives me this snotty look and some "whatever" type of comment. She was hired in the fall of 07 and her "Boyfriend" was directly employed under my supervision form Feb 05 till Nov 07. He was the coworker from HELL. a huge smart ass and ass kissin' sabotor!! I have found in the recent past many things that were done wrong on purpose to try and make me look bad. She and he are the biggest ass kisser i have ever seen in my entire life and will do ANYTHING to make them selfs look better in the eyes of the owners. I try very had in my life not to use the word HATE in any context when I am speaking of people, but in their case I must make an exception. I loath them so bad. He no longer works under my supervion any more, he works in a different area and everyone is starting to see how big of a screw up, and screw off he really is. He crashed a grinding machine and it cost the company about 20,000.00 to fix. Yup he still works there! Are ya seeing anything wrong with this picture yet? wow that felt good i had to vent about that for a long time now. Everyone works with ass kissers but these two are star quality.