Let’s face it, we all have irritating habits of some sort. We may not even realise that we are annoying other people. Sometimes our clients may develop irksome habits without realising it is happening and being with them for most of the day may start to get frustrating.
How do we handle this?
Ask yourself on a scale of one through ten, how irksome the habit is to you. If it ranks as a five or below, then ignore it, don’t say anything about it and get on with your day-to-day routine.
If it ranks as five and above then you may want to do something about it. One way to approach this by mentioning it to your client. This assumes that your client has mental capacity to hear, understand and take action. Things like chewing nails or picking a nose can be tactfully addressed and with a bit of luck may cease.
Pick your battles
Remember that in some circumstances you will never win this battle. In cases where your client suffers from Dementia or similar issues you may never be able to discuss things with them.
Even with some clients, you may find that they take umbrage, and an argument ensues. Certainly, hard feelings can develop if your client thinks you are picking on them.
Ask yourself truthfully if you are ever likely to win this battle or not and then start your discussion based on this answer.
Some situations are inherently stressful
Remember that your client may be reacting to things such as anxiety or fear and feels that the way to deal with that is to suck their fingers or chew their nails.
While you may never be able to stop this reaction, you may with tact be able to reduce it and handle your client’s anxiety differently.
Remember the psychological issues
Irritating behaviour often has underlying causes, with disease bringing its own issues and reactions.
If your client gets angry or upset the only way they may handle those feelings could be to chew nails or cover their ears when being addressed.
Distraction may be a good way to avoid the start of irritating habits and often will leave your client thinking about other things.
Keep calm
Often this is easier said than done, but it is a good idea to try to not let some things get to you. Naturally if the habit becomes dangerous, like hitting out when you attempt to wash a face then other actions are needed.
Final thought
Accept that the irritating habit may be nothing you have caused and there may also be nothing you can do about it.
Try to accept this and learn to not take things too personally. Chances are your client is simply doing what they have done for years, and will continue doing, with or without you there.
Tags:
© 2025 EJOBBOARD LTD. All Rights Reserved.