Workplace personalities

It is said that when a person angers you he conquers you. If that is indeed true, how many times have you been conquered this week? The workweek with all its responsibilities can be grueling, but it can be made worse by people who seem to leave their homes with the mission to simply annoy and slow you down.{{more}}

Every workplace has at least one of these personality types, and merely seeing them can be enough to upset your day. Be aware of their strategies and resist the urge to lose your self-control over their antics.

The rebel – The rebel is that colleague who is never satisfied with any decision made by the leadership. He/she is convinced they can do a better job and is constantly complaining about the dismal state of the organization. Keep this person at arm’s length. While they sometimes have good ideas, it is often lost in their negative approach to the establishment.

The patient – This type of colleague always has personal drama going on in their life that they feel they must share with their coworkers. Their personal life really isn’t personal, as everyone knows the soap opera like details that occur, since they share these events on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the patient ends up wasting valuable company time as he/she often coerces colleagues into listening and sympathizing with their self-induced problems. Cut the conversation short and let the patient know you have work you need to do.

The pessimist – The pessimist sees nothing in life to be hopeful for and is simply going through the motions of doing the job. He/she has no aspirations to move up in the organization and may even lash out at you if you discuss your dreams and hopes of moving up. Perhaps in the past the pessimist suffered a devastating set back in his/her career and never really recovered. Don’t try to convert the pessimist. You stick to your course and move on.

The busy bee – The busy bee is always on the move but accomplishes minimal work. He/she knows how to play the game, talks a lot but when it come to results they always come up short, leaving the team to compensate for their shortcomings. Don’t assign critical tasks to the busy bee, but hold them accountable for their share of the workload.

Regardless of who you work with, you are the one ultimately in control of your reaction to the different kinds of people. You can chose to ignore them or take a hint from Charles Swindoll who said life is 10 per cent what happens to you and 90 per cent how you react to it.

Karen Hinds President/CEO –
Workplace Success Group,
Toll Free: 1-877-902-2775;
Tel: 1-203-757-4103
A CT Winner of the Make Mine a Million Dollar Business award!
Karen@WorkplaceSuccess.com