Have you ever experienced a distracting coworker who stood in the way of progress? If so, how did you handle that situation?

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In any work environment, difficult-to-work-with colleagues can hinder results for many reasons. Hiring managers realize this, and I've witnessed them asking this question to ensure that candidates can work cohesively with even the most difficult individuals. In the highly productive world of Kimberly-Clark, your interviewer needs to get this same sense about you.

Before your interview with Kimberly-Clark, think back to a time you had to work closely with a distracting or difficult colleague that was bad for the team's progress. Without speaking poorly of them, focus on your actions and what you did to work successfully. If you used your interpersonal skills to challenge the difficult colleague respectfully, explain why and how you did this.

"During a large, heavily weighted project last year, I was working with another student that wasn't pulling their weight on their parts of the project and used our weekly touchpoints to talk about their personal life. I didn't hesitate to let them know of their distractions and the need to focus on the task at hand. While it was an awkward conversation at first, I'm glad I had it because he changed his approach, and we got a great grade on our final work."

"I have been in a situation with a very distracting coworker, and I set a kind but clear boundary and let them know that I needed to focus at the moment. I also offered an alternate time for a catch-up over lunch. For the sake of workplace culture, it is essential to set aside time to be social with coworkers, so I didn't hesitate to let them know when I was available for a quick break in the day."

"If I have a distracting co-worker, I will point out the distraction immediately while remaining respectful. I feel it's always best to nip issues in the bud before they get out of control. I'm very good at setting personal and professional boundaries, so this has never been much of an issue. I've found that if I'm clear that my time is currently allocated to another task, people respect that and are happy to catch up and be social at another specified time."

Anonymous Answer

"I normally will continue my job but tell them I will catch up with them on break or lunch."

Marcie's Feedback

This sounds like a good way to handle distracting coworkers. Have you had success with this method? Can you talk about a specific instance when you effectively dealt with a coworker who was trying to distract you?