The workplace is an interesting environment, where you have to work with different types of people that you might not like. Just like the family, you can’t choose your coworkers unless you are your own boss. Due to necessity and financial factors, we often have to work with people who literally drive us crazy. To make your life at work more enjoyable, I’d like to share with you this list of 9 types of people you may work with and some helpful tips on how to deal with them.
1. The Flaw Picker
Probably, you’ve already met this type of people in your office. The Flaw Picker is skeptical and they see only the worst in everything. They are more than just pessimistic. They are perfectionists and they don’t like anything they and their coworkers do. While it can be difficult to work with this type of people, you can learn many from them. After all, striving for excellence isn’t as bad as many of us think. Sure, it sometimes leads to unreal expectations, however, the Flaw Picker can help you to see the problems and issues most people might not see. That’s highly useful in the workplace.
2. The know-it-all person
The know-it-all person is really a wise person. They will be able to show their knowledge at the meetings by telling you some incredible trivia that you probably don’t need to know but the act of sharing with you this information will make them feel better and happier. In fact, you can learn plenty of useful things from the know-it-all person and I actually like to work with this type of people!
3. The highly enthusiastic person
Generally, this is the newbie at work. After being in your workplace for a long time, it can be easy to lose enthusiasm and get into routine, so this type of people can be rather infectious and really fun to be around. They can even inspire you to work harder and better.
4. The angry person
I can tell you from my personal experience that working with an angry person is extremely difficult and you should have steel nerves. The angry person can often be found huffing and puffing or slamming their things on the desk because things don’t go their way. Sure, the angry person is not always angry. They can be nice and happy, but, unfortunately, for a very short period of time. They will definitely find something that will turn them into an angry person again. My advice to you is to stay calm and don’t be angry at them. This person needs your attention and love, too. Although your attention may not turn them into a happy person, you can boost their mood a little.
5. The Party Animal
I personally don’t like this type of people and I’d rather work with an angry person than with the Party Animal. Once they come in, they will start regaling you with long tales about their crazy weekends of alcohol induced debauchery and they will always have a ridiculous story to tell you. The Party Animal is usually organizing all the social events and if you want to learn something about the social activities they’re good to turn to.
6. The Office Clown
I can’t imagine any office without such type of people. The Office Clown is a person who is always full of energy, and who can easily boost your mood even if your day is the most difficult of your life. They can put a smile on your face any time of the day and you will want to spend more time working with them because of their fantastic energy. The Office Clown can also have tough days, so be sure to entertain them with some jokes just like they do when you have a bad day.
7. The person who always stands a little too close
There are people who have no idea about proxemics. While this can vary from culture to culture, it’s so annoying to talk to a person who stands super close to you. I worked with this type of person and I was confused at first because when she talked to me, it seemed she had her lips on mine, as she had a tendency to stand very close to me. When I took a few steps back, she followed suit. Well, it was a bit weird and annoying but eventually I found that the best way to talk to this person is to sit at my desk. It helped me and if you work with this type of people you may want to use this advice, too.
8. The Fridge Raider
There’s always a greedy person in the office. But what’s the most annoying, is when they take food from the office fridge that isn’t theirs. I’m not a greedy person and I always share my food with others, but when a person literally steals my lunch from the fridge, it’s the height of impudence! How to deal with this type of person? Simply add chili to your food or put CCTV and catch them in action.
9. The reserved person
The reserved person is always quiet and doesn’t like to draw attention to themselves. They just come to work, do their job and then go home. No bother, no fuss and definitely no social events. We usually like the reserved coworkers because they always seem to be calm in a noisy office. And if you are tired of that Party Animal or Office Clown, you can talk to your reserved coworker and enjoy a peaceful conversation.
Sometimes it’s difficult to work with these types of people, but try to be calm and just do your job. How many of these types of people you may work with do you recognize in your workplace? Which type do you think you are? Share your thoughts and thanks for reading.