How to fend off that coworker who drains all your energy

How to fend off that coworker who drains all your energyHow to fend off that coworker who drains all your energyEver feel like when a certain coworker drops by to talk, your energy disappears in 3 2 1 when they finally walk away? Heres how to handle this person at work.Say nope, nope, nopeThe answer doesnt always have to be yes.Christiane Northrup, M.D., an OB/GYN, author and radio show host, writes on her site about how empaths can deal with energy vampires in different areas of life. One of her tips is to use the word no.One of the best ways to protect yourself is to minimize your interactions with a vampire. You can do this by becoming empowered in the negative. In other words, learn how to turn people down. Saying no takes practice. And, its all about compassion, which as an empath, you have plenty of. If you find it too difficult to say no at first, start by saying, Ill get back to you. The main thing you need to master is stopping the knee-jerk yes. she writes.Dont be a pus hoverBrandon Smith, an author, executive coach, speaker and podcast host, writes on LinkedIn about how you should be aggressive and take charge.Emotional vampires tend to pray on our professional courtesies and politeness. They take charge of conversations and quickly turn the topic of conversation to themselves and what they want to talk about. They do bedrngnis like aggressive conversationalists, he writes. If you are the one asking the questions of them and if you keep redirecting them back to the agenda, youll soon see that they will begin to avoid you. You prevent them from getting what they want and they dont like that.Protect your timeRemember, your time is limited - especially at work.Dr. Judith Orloff, M.D., an author and psychiatrist, writes about dealing with different types of energy vampires in the office on her site. One of the types she describes is the sob sister, who she describes as someone who plays the victim, is always whining when you two talk and does a lot o f complaining instead of fixing whats wrong.This is how Orloff recommends dealing with someone like this Set clear boundaries. Limit the time you spend talking about her complaints. Say no with a smile. For instance, with a co-worker, smile and say, Ill hold positive thoughts for the best possible outcome. Thank you for understanding that Im on deadline and must get back to my project. she writes.Dont soak up all their bad vibesJon Gordon, a speaker and author, writes in his newsletter about how to interact with EVs, or energy vampires.If you are not a manager or leader and you have EVs on your team or in your office its also important that you decide to be more positive than the negativity your face. A simple rule is Your positive energy must be greater than all the negativity.