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Workplace dynamics is the way that people in a company interact with each other. While it’s all smooth sailing for the most part, you will inevitably come across one of these eight workplace personality types who are sure to give you some grief. So, we’re giving you our suggestions on how to deal with the eight commonly found personality types in any office.
The Passive Aggressive Personality type
Passive aggressive personality types can be cancerous to a company’s culture if it is left unchecked. These are the people who would take personal offence to the fact that coffee pots are left empty and go around leaving sneaky notes instead of openly confronting the person they think it is. So, if you are the person pissing off a passive aggressive personality type, try being honest and open with them. In a world with no consequences, you could open with something like “You’re a passive aggressive (insert expletive of choice)!”, but that won’t resolve the problem. Instead, try this – “I understand that you left me this note because I was inconsiderate about not making another pot of coffee. Honestly, it just slipped my mind, and I will make it a point to be more considerate in the future. That being said, I would have preferred for you to come talk to me about this directly instead of being a pussy about it and leaving a sticky note to make your point!” If this doesn’t help and the passive aggressive behavior doesn’t stop – let the CEO of your company know.
The Backstabbing Personality type
I might have an innately violent side to my personality if my immediate reaction to a backstabbing co-worker is *Suckerpunch* or “I’m glad you liked my idea enough to make it your own – you credit hog! But obviously, these aren’t appropriate workplace responses for dealing with a backstabber. The best way to deal with a backstabber at work is to… Catch them red-handed! Yes, stalking a co-worker you suspect of backstabbing might be a colossal waste of your time, but the truth is that it is important to confront a backstabber with facts so that they can’t squirm their way out by denying said action or blaming someone else. But, I might just be taking these preventive measures too literally *wink wink*
The Office Slob Personality type
It’s hard to identify a kitchen slob because they can be the ultimate stealth ninjas, but let’s say you did – what then? People have tried shame emails and kitchen memos and those don’t work because kitchen slobs think it is okay to be shameless. My suggestion: you should leave your dirty dishes, or moldy cheese even, at the desk of a kitchen slob. A dose of their own medicine might stop the kitchen slob in their tracks the next time they decide to make a mess or stink up the kitchen. And if that doesn’t teach them, at least your dirty dishes or moldy cheese isn’t in the kitchen, so nobody can accuse you of being a slob. Point! Score! Here are some actually useful tips for not being an office slob *sheepish grin*
The Chatty Personality Type
You spend 7 hours a day at work, so there’s a pretty good chance that you are talking to your co-workers – a lot. And that’s important because that is how meaningful relationships are formed at work. But some people just have to go overboard and ruin it for everybody else. That’s a chatterbox. They can talk for hours and hours about every little detail until you find yourself wishing for a Q-tip you can jam into your eardrum. Ah, sweet release. But seriously, we’ve all been in this position where we’ve had to deal with a chatterbox. The best way to handle the situation is not to engage. In an ideal world, you could just get up and leave if you are singled out or if you were too slow to see the chatterbox coming. Here’s the three ways to deal with a co-worker who shares / talks too much in the real world. You start by not engaging and not encouraging a chatterbox. This means you look and act disinterested and whatever happens, don’t ask any questions. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to vocalize the issue, in private. Be clear about how the chatterbox is affecting your work and hopefully they’ll see the light. If that doesn’t work, invest in a good noise-cancelling headphone.
The Delegating Personality type
Delegators are an interesting breed of employees, at least in my humble opinion. The reason I say that is because I’ve found that delegators always manage to get ahead in life – on the backs of their hardworking co-workers. That is until somebody with enough moral courage puts a stop to their delegation. The best way to deal with a delegator is to say “No. I’m really busy, indefinitely. Why don’t you talk to your boss about your workload?” And stick to this. Even if the delegator promises to name his/her first-born after you, just say no and get back to your job. Turn your back to them in slow-motion for dramatic flair.
The Workaholic Personality type
Every company would love to have a horde of workaholics because let’s face it – these people are like machines. Albeit, what a company really needs are engaged workaholics. They are the ones who actually love their jobs and can maintain a good balance of work and fun. Because finding an engaged workaholic is as hard as finding a unicorn, you are most likely to find just a good ol’ fashioned workaholic at most companies! Here are some great suggestions on how you can deal with a workaholic co-worker. The first and most important point on the list is not to become a workaholic yourself, because there’s a big difference in hardworking and working too hard. And offer help – if you have the time to help out, a workaholic (unlike the delegator) could really use it.
The Noisy Personality type
These are the co-workers you can literally hear coming from a mile away, and they can’t begin to understand that their general loudness is distracting to their co-workers. An ex co-worker of mine really fit this description. She would be on the phone for hours and sometimes, she would be in a yelling match of sorts while the rest of the office sits through it in awkward silence. Thank god for headphones. That is actually my first suggestion on how to deal with a noisy co-worker. Yes, it isn’t a life-altering solution, but it’s perfect if you want to avoid confrontation. If you are looking for a more permanent solution, try the request and offer tactic.
The Gossiping Personality type
If you work in an office, you have participated in office gossip at some point or another. And that’s okay, but the problems arise when the gossiping gets out-of-hand. This personality type can damage your company culture in a number of ways – by hurting people’s feelings, demotivating them, and destroying morale. Here are ten tips for dealing with workplace gossip – my personal favorite is verifying the gossip with questions. Ask the gossiper enough questions, and as it becomes obvious that there aren’t any specifics attached, you get to say “Wow, all if it sounds pretty vague. Are you sure about it?” Which of these eight personality types do you have to deal with at your workplace? Or worse still, would someone accuse you of being one of these eight types? We’d love to hear your thoughts 
