5 Types of Colleagues You’ll Meet

Different people make the world go round... and different people will make the office a “more interesting” place. As well as a challenging place if these colleagues have clashing personalities with you. How you deal with them is key to making work bearable. So here are the five types of colleagues you’ll meet and what your game plan should be.

#1 The Slacker
There will always be one at the office who spends more time taichi-ing whatever responsibility so that they can do nothing yet get paid. They come to work late, eat lunch longer, and go home early! Sometimes they get away with it, which is infuriating if you are bogged down with deadlines.
Deal with it: You don’t want to complain to your boss (this may make you look sulky) but at the same time you’ve had enough about picking up the slack from the slacker. The best thing to do? Don’t let it get to you and the good work you’re doing. But if your work involves their input which they are not giving, you may need to talk to your manager – tactfully – to see if something can be done for everyone’s benefit.

#2 The Gossip
This colleague knows all... and tells all. Whether what they’re telling is fact or fiction remains untold. How it interrupts you? When they are adamant on telling you the latest gossip or worst, making you part of the gossip trail.
Deal with it: It’s not a matter of if you can’t beat them, join them; instead it should be all about steering clear of the whole gossip culture at work. Your gossipy colleague determined to tell you things? Act nonchalant about the gossip and they are bound to get the idea that you’re not interested.

#3 The Noisy One
She is always chatting on the phone, talking extremely loudly or blaring her music louder than she should – the noisy colleague can be a lot to handle, especially if you’re the type to thrive on quiet for focus.
Deal with it: The best way is to be direct – tell your noisy colleague that you are extremely busy and needs to get work done before the day ends so if possible, could you talk to her later? This will tell them loud and clear but also politely not to disturb you with their latest story on what they did over the weekend. If all else fails, get yourself a pair of headphones.

#4 The Whiner
The colleague who is always complaining about the traffic, the lunch they just had, the boss’s new idea, how slow the copy machine is... basically every single thing. Most of the time, this colleague is always negative too where nothing goes their way and everything’s downhill.
Deal with it: Misery loves company, which is why you need to put some distance between you and the whiner. You don’t want the negativity to rub off you and you don’t want to be Aunt Agony every time this colleague has something to complain about. Just be friendly, positive and move on.

#5 The Perfectionist Overachiever
This colleague can do no wrong, which can be annoying if you’re still trying to grasp your way around the office and work. They seem to know everything and are on the fast track to go up, up, up. They are also extremely picky about doing things the right way, which is their way. Double whammy with the overachieving bit because they are constantly volunteering for more work, making the rest of the team look bad.
Deal with it: Instead of letting their Type-A personality get to you, why not take a note out of the perfectionist’s book and ace your game at work? See it as a motivation, not something to make you feel bad about yourself. It’s important to have a benchmark of success at work so that you push yourself to do better.

Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash