There’s only a few of us who are truly lucky to be working with very agreeable people. The rest of us suffer the cruelest people to ever walk the earth. And it’s not as if we can just quit—not when we’re hearing a lot of job cuts around the world. The better, harder option is to instigate goodwill so that you won’t be against them, and they won’t be against you.

Have fun. It’s hard to have fun at work, but you have to try. Joining in on the jokes and the laugh create a friendly atmosphere which gives way to ready cooperation.

Dispel differences. Since you’re not in charge of the hiring department, you have no choice but to work with whoever’s thrown in the room. You either have to get along, or get another job. Force yourself to see your officemates’ innermost beauty.

Give constructive criticism, not rude and sarcastic feedback. It’s hard to mingle if you’re the only smart person in the office but you have to be very tactful when you’re discussing things, even if you’re right and they’re wrong. I don’t have much patience myself, so naturally, my officemates unnerve me. You can’t please everyone and everyone can’t please you but you can be polite.

Stay out of personal issues. You can be friends without talking about sensitive matters. If you can only go as far as getting along, stick to professional topics.

Be diplomatic and democratic. Even though you already know the best solution to your problem, it would still look good to solicit their opinions. After all, you are a team. Show that you accept different views so they’ll feel their worth and will be motivated to make contributions to any work problem in the future.