From the nitpicking type to the jealous type – your employees will probably encounter many different types of toxic people at work – like you did in your professional career. Toxicity isn’t exclusive to one organization. Almost every company has those conniving, mean-minded, jealous, or insecure people trying to pull their colleagues down in an attempt to climb up the corporate ladder.

Probably, the best way to prepare your employees to deal with toxicity at work is through training sessions. But before you rent classroom or book training room rental for the job, here are some ideas on how to go about handling toxic people at work.

1. Stop reacting

You have no control over how someone else would behave with you. But you have full control over how you want to react to their behavior. Toxic people are always looking for vulnerable targets. Don’t be one! Instead, show them that their toxicity doesn’t affect you, even if that’s not 100% true. That way, you can stop give them your power. Once you stop reacting to them, they’ll probably leave you out from their go-to list.

2. Keep distance

If a toxic person sits beside you at your office, it might be difficult to keep distance with them. But otherwise, you should try to stay away from that person as much as possible. The more hard-to-reach you are, the better it is for you. Even if the person sits next to you, it is possible to tune them out with a little innovative thinking. For instance, you can wear a headphone or request your manager to change your seat.

3. Take time

If you were to meet and spend time with a toxic person at work, you should give yourself enough time to prepare for it. Simply meeting with them without a game plan could be catastrophic. Take the time you need to mentally prepare yourself how you’d like to react to different situations.