5x colleagues you want to avoid
Have you ever thought about the fact that you generally see your colleagues more often than your friends? Quite intense when you consider that you don't get to choose them. Fortunately, the chances are high that you generally encounter helpful, friendly, and pleasant colleagues, but let's be honest: there are always colleagues who can get under your skin. Personally, I've encountered them in all shapes and sizes and I am now an expert on which colleagues you should avoid at all costs. Here they come.
1. The complainer
With this colleague, we have undoubtedly all worked together at some point. You haven't even taken off your coat yet, and she is already whining about how tired she is because her son didn't sleep a wink last night, how her husband ruined the weekend by buying the wrong bananas, and that she already has a headache now. Please, with all due respect for your world problems, can I first make a cup of coffee before we declare the complaint hour open?
2. The pessimist
This colleague feels like the personal victim of everything that happens in the workplace and spares no opportunity to share that with you. Is there no tea brought for her? She feels immediately overlooked. Are two people talking? She is convinced it’s about her. Everything that falls under her job description is standard too much for her, and by lunchtime, you’ve already heard at least twelve times how much she wants to go home. Deadly exhausting. A simple in-one-ear-and-out-the-other tactic works wonders with such a flood of negativity.
3. The gossip
I know, I know: it’s delightful to discuss how Karin and Nancy from the second floor give you the creeps over a cup of tea, but beware of gossiping colleagues. While a quick discussion about your boss's terrible new haircut or the alleged affair of two other colleagues certainly provides the much-needed entertainment on an otherwise dull office day, you’d better stay as far away from this colleague as possible. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of time before something you’ve confided in her becomes the new topic of the day.
4. The slacker
Working closely with this colleague is not advisable. It seems like there is always something going on that prevents this colleague from doing her job. Her child is sick, she has car trouble, or she has an urgent appointment at the office of believe-it-or-not. This colleague even uses the misalignment of an eyebrow hair as an excuse not to work. Whatever it is, this colleague rarely shows up, and when she does, she always leaves before 4 PM. As a result, you get to pick up all the work.
5. The control freak
Unlike the slacker, this colleague seems like a perfect employee, but don’t be fooled. Besides the fact that she meets all deadlines and is excellently prepared for every meeting, she has never heard of teamwork. She has the gift of immediately claiming every task you receive, resulting in no room for your ideas. This colleague takes on way too much and will, if you’re not careful, immediately confront you on Monday morning about why you are only now responding to her email from Friday night at 10 PM. Well, dear colleague, some people just have a life.
Geschreven door: Sophie Rietmulder
