For those of you who’ve had moments when you’ve just wanted to strangle the person you work with, have no fear. Here are ways in which you can cope with that difficult colleague:
1. The Bitch: Characterized by passive aggression and attention seeking tactics, these are the most insecure and vengeful colleagues to watch out for. Both men and women fit into this category, though women are likely to be more slyly malicious. When faced with this kind of a person at work, it is best to simply ignore them to their face while getting back up ready in the form of witnesses to the person's foul behaviour towards you. Ensure that the rest of your colleagues know and side with your side of the story, whatever it may be.
2. The Rat: Characterized by overt friendliness but an air of guarded nosiness, these are your bosses informers or 'spies' as I'd prefer to term them. They often snoop around your conversations with your close friends or are even part of the conversation. Juicy gossip that is likely to get you or other people into trouble, is then duly reported to the boss. It is best to identify these leaks and plug them immediately by having nothing to do with them or giving them a steady stream of "dummy feed" (which is basically stuff you want the boss to hear) to keep them happy.
3. Hitler: Characterized by bossiness, dominance, overt aggression and an obvious superiority complex, these are the type of people who will drive you to work overtime and to their levels of satisfaction because they think you need to keep up to their standards and not drag them down. When faced by a Hiltlerian idiot, simply 'i.g.n.o.r.e' and do your own thing. If they persist, inform them very candidly that as long as you are delivering the goods, it’s none of their concern what your work style is.
4. The Slacker: Characterized by late entries and early exits and conspicuous by their absence before important meetings or presentations. This variety is perhaps the most annoying of all, especially if appraisals are done team-wise. You must be firm with slackers from the moment you notice their slackery. If you let them off the hook once, they will make you the sucker for life. Don't offer to do their share of work by buying into their constant excuses and do not cover up for them in front of the boss. Also, working with friends often leads to slackery and leads to unpleasant situations so avoid it.
5. The Idea Thief: Characterized by laziness and a constant desire to be in the boss's good books, this colleague is also very ambitious but realizes he/she doesn't have the skills to make it to the top, hence resorts to err sharing yours! Publicly demand credit for your work. That is the only way to go. Have written proof of the fact that the idea was originally yours. Get people who know that the work is yours to support you when you confront the person. And don't feel shy to bring up the issue as and when it crops up, or you will be the loser in the end.
6. The Over-friendly moron: Characterized by excessive hanging around your table/cabin, borrowing your stuff without asking, talking about you as if you're best friends, giving you unwanted advice etc. Be polite but aloof if you don't want to have anything to do with the person. Don't start a conversation. When spoken to, answer in monosyllables etc. But never be rude or even offhandedness with a colleague as that can be misconstrued in very bad form and you will be thought of as unprofessional. If the person takes your stuff without asking, don't keep quiet, just go and ask for it saying you were using it and if they had asked, you would have perhaps lent it to them for awhile.
1. The Bitch: Characterized by passive aggression and attention seeking tactics, these are the most insecure and vengeful colleagues to watch out for. Both men and women fit into this category, though women are likely to be more slyly malicious. When faced with this kind of a person at work, it is best to simply ignore them to their face while getting back up ready in the form of witnesses to the person's foul behaviour towards you. Ensure that the rest of your colleagues know and side with your side of the story, whatever it may be.
2. The Rat: Characterized by overt friendliness but an air of guarded nosiness, these are your bosses informers or 'spies' as I'd prefer to term them. They often snoop around your conversations with your close friends or are even part of the conversation. Juicy gossip that is likely to get you or other people into trouble, is then duly reported to the boss. It is best to identify these leaks and plug them immediately by having nothing to do with them or giving them a steady stream of "dummy feed" (which is basically stuff you want the boss to hear) to keep them happy.
3. Hitler: Characterized by bossiness, dominance, overt aggression and an obvious superiority complex, these are the type of people who will drive you to work overtime and to their levels of satisfaction because they think you need to keep up to their standards and not drag them down. When faced by a Hiltlerian idiot, simply 'i.g.n.o.r.e' and do your own thing. If they persist, inform them very candidly that as long as you are delivering the goods, it’s none of their concern what your work style is.
4. The Slacker: Characterized by late entries and early exits and conspicuous by their absence before important meetings or presentations. This variety is perhaps the most annoying of all, especially if appraisals are done team-wise. You must be firm with slackers from the moment you notice their slackery. If you let them off the hook once, they will make you the sucker for life. Don't offer to do their share of work by buying into their constant excuses and do not cover up for them in front of the boss. Also, working with friends often leads to slackery and leads to unpleasant situations so avoid it.
5. The Idea Thief: Characterized by laziness and a constant desire to be in the boss's good books, this colleague is also very ambitious but realizes he/she doesn't have the skills to make it to the top, hence resorts to err sharing yours! Publicly demand credit for your work. That is the only way to go. Have written proof of the fact that the idea was originally yours. Get people who know that the work is yours to support you when you confront the person. And don't feel shy to bring up the issue as and when it crops up, or you will be the loser in the end.
6. The Over-friendly moron: Characterized by excessive hanging around your table/cabin, borrowing your stuff without asking, talking about you as if you're best friends, giving you unwanted advice etc. Be polite but aloof if you don't want to have anything to do with the person. Don't start a conversation. When spoken to, answer in monosyllables etc. But never be rude or even offhandedness with a colleague as that can be misconstrued in very bad form and you will be thought of as unprofessional. If the person takes your stuff without asking, don't keep quiet, just go and ask for it saying you were using it and if they had asked, you would have perhaps lent it to them for awhile.
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