If nothing else, working in an office teaches you how to get along with all kinds. Whether it’s the super achiever who will do anything to be the best or the clown who reduces everything to a joke (and not very funny at that), most workplaces are staffed with distinct personalities. Some are just annoying and easily avoided, while others can interfere with your ability to do your job. Who is the worst kind of co-worker? Writing in the Washington Business Journal, business coach and author Sylvia Lafair has identified the 13 worst workplace personalities. One of these could be your manager, one could be the guy in the cube next to yours and one could even be you.
The 13 worst office personalities:
- Super achiever: must win at all costs
- Rebel: can’t accept any authority
- Procrastinator: won’t finish anything
- Clown: reduces everything to a joke
- Persecutor: bullies people into misery
- Victim: too scared to take any action
- Rescuer: demands to be the big hero
- Drama queen/king: makes emotional scenes
- Martyr: does everyone else’s work
- Pleaser: says what folks want to hear
- Avoider: dodges work and responsibility
- Denier: won’t face problems directly
- Splitter: secretly sets up conflict
“Here is the good news. These patterns are real,” says Lafair. “This is good news? Yes, once you recognize them, you can do something about them. You can transform them to flip to the other side, the positive side. But first, you need to observe them.” By identifying the behavior, you can better work with people who fit these destructive patterns and possibly make changes in your own office personality.
