Fortunate is the remote worker who never encounters a difficult client. While there certainly are awesome employers out there, there are also those who come straight from your worst nightmare. Pulling out your own teeth seems more appealing than working with them.

What makes a person hard to deal with anyway?

1. They ask for something beyond what was stipulated in the contract.
2. They fail to send the payment on time or with the right amount.
3. They disrespect you despite needing your help with their business.

It’s easy to feel drained physically, mentally, and emotionally when you’re not treated right. You’re placed in a tough position of standing up for yourself without jeopardizing current or future projects. Facing the problem head-on is what you need to do.

How do you cope while ensuring both parties will be satisfied?

Make expectations clear

Before agreeing to work with anyone, let them know what you consider non-negotiable. What counts as a deal breaker will depend on your personal preferences though. Don’t force yourself to accept what others are all right with.

Maybe you’d rather not take meetings outside of standard business hours, or be kept on call for video conferences. Maybe you don’t want to make multiple revisions, or be emotionally berated. It may even be that you want to work a maximum of 20 hours a week.

You might think it’s a given that you must compromise to get hired. However, this also sets a precedent with employers that won’t be in your favour. If there’s something you’re not comfortable with doing, be frank about it. This way, both parties enter the agreement with eyes wide open.

Stick up for yourself

Let’s say you’ve been transparent about your expectations but the client still goes against the rules. The best course of action is to stand up for yourself. Scary as it might be, it’s effective when done directly and professionally.

Have your talk over a video or voice call instead of email. Also, avoid turning the conversation into a confrontation by sticking to the facts. Never let yourself be swept away by your own emotions. Rather, circle back to the terms on the contract applicable to the specific situation.

Bringing it up is often enough to resolve the issue. Things will feel awkward a few weeks after, yet it’s guaranteed to lead to a better working relationship as they realise that you’re serious about getting the respect you deserve.

Create fair job estimates

Money is a matter of contention in all kinds of relationships, especially professional ones. You’ll be affronted when the employer doesn’t pay up. Meanwhile, they will feel cheated when you demand a higher amount than in the initial estimate.

Providing an accurate quote will encourage clients to respect your time. This must specify your rate, be it hourly or fixed. Include whether you’ll be billing them for time spent attending meetings or doing insertions too. Set the number of revisions included in your initial rate as well.

State if you will be charging extra for tasks done outside of standard business hours or those not mentioned in the job description. If you really don’t want to do any additional work, write how they can’t force you to do so and stick to this decision.

Know what you deserve

There will be times when you’ll be tempted to give a discount. Perhaps you’re worried that they’ll be upset over the total amount billed. Perhaps you think that your quality or productivity isn’t of the same level as fellow workers in the same field.

Whatever your reasoning is, you must realize that what you’re doing is undervaluing your own time and effort. You need to stop selling yourself short to appease others. If you legitimately worked those hours or produce that output, you deserve to be paid for them—that is a fact!

Bear in mind that this is business and you have bills to pay. Don’t give people a reason to expect more as they pay less. There’s nothing wrong with being kind, but be careful that you won’t be taken advantage of at the same time.

Choose your battles

Not everyone is worth fighting for so know when you must put your foot down. Understand that you need not play the martyr, regardless how big the project is or how much you’re expecting to get from it. Giving up on a job is a valid option.

Want to know if they’re worth it? Determine:

• If what they’re asking for is within reasonable bounds.
• If they have treated you with respect so far.
• If the request is fair to all of your other employers.
• If they have kept other parts of the agreement or not.

When the answer is ‘no’ to most of the conditions above, let them know why you can’t fulfill their request. Refer them to someone who’s better equipped to handle it, if you can. Doing so will keep your professional relationship intact.

Where can good clients be found?

Difficult employers are a pain in the neck. Learning to cope without risking your reputation is a lot of work, as you’d have gathered from the tips mentioned. You will want to avoid dealing with them in the first place by improving your job-hunting skills.

We’ve tackled 5 simple but effective strategies for finding remote work in a previous Remote Workmate article, which is useful for this purpose. Even easier, get an online job through us. We’re connected to many reliable clients from around the world that are worth working for.

We also provide post-hire assistance if you need any advice with your career or your employer. Our blog is also full of articles like this one if you’re looking for any visual references so please check us out.