A: How I dealt with some office "characters"

Hello to all the happy employees who are at home today, relaxing… like me! I am not sure if there is a greeting for the holiday we are celebrating today, but what the heck, HAPPY LABOUR DAY –to all those who do hard and fair work, and those about to give birth! J

 I was thinking of a topic related to work or employment for my blog entry today. I chose between sharing the fun memories I had in my previous companies or the lessons I learned when I needed to deal with some rather different “characters” at work. The latter idea won.

Today, I’d like to focus on the things that taught me some of the coping “talents” I possess now. I used to need to paste fake smiles on my face and really control my temper just to not get into any kind of conflict with some rather unprofessional workmates. Now this entry will not be me telling you how you can cope with the “characters” at work, I’m sharing with you how I dealt with the ones I used to know and work with.

I think each of us would have our personal list of people we would rather not share an office floor with, and these so far are my top three:

1.         THE KNOW-IT-ALL

Who are they: No, they don’t know everything; they just like to pretend as if they do. They stick to what was first taught to them and refuse changes in processes, and raise their eyebrows on employees that get promoted, especially if the ones who get recognized are new employees. Most of the time, they are full of BS. When you try to correct them, they attack back with more BS. They refuse training, and they shut down suggestions for improvement, and these people just don’t to shut up. Most of the time, these are the tenured people.

How I coped: If there is one thing I learned from all my previous work places, it is that an employee’s tenure in the company does not reflect his/her expertise on what he/she does. I know so many people who have been with a company for a really long time, but still know so little about their work. And the only way I coped with this kind of character was I let them pretend to be the expert that they are not, and let them show what they “know”. Basically, let them make fools out of themselves. During those times when I was sure I was right, I (professionally) fought back, I made sure I prove my point. It felt nice to know that I was right and to get to prove it not only to my colleagues, not only to my superiors, but more importantly to that one person who refused to believe I was.

2.         THE GREAT PRETENDER

Who are they: These are the ones with scattered papers all over their desks, work email maximized on their computer screen, they are quiet and look as if they are focused on the task they are doing, they may even run to the printer from time to time, but all these are parts of their act. And when you ask them to finish things that they should finish, they ask you if you can handle those for them because they are “swamped” with so many things. Oh the great pretenders.

How I coped: We all have moments when we just wanted to slack off at work, only a hypocrite will say that never was there a time he/she felt too lazy to work. But there is a huge difference between wanting to just slack off at work and actually doing so. And unfortunately, I have worked with some people who did just that. And how did I handle that? Well, as long as their laziness didn’t affect my work, then I let them be the inefficient and unproductive employee they wanted to be. But when things got worse, I made sure I let them know that I know how lazy they were.

There was one instance before when the person who needed to confirm something to me for a client slept like Snorlax (a Pokemon) at her desk, and needless to say, waiting for an email that I thought she found quite difficult to compose delayed my work. After I found out that she was busy sleeping and that was why she couldn’t respond right away, I immediately went to her desk to remind her about the email. I did that politely. After waiting 30 minutes too long, and still no response, I visited her again at her desk, only to find out she was, yet again, catching some Z’s. That time, I didn’t bother waking her up again. I went straight to our manager, and let him do what needed to be done.  

When things with these great pretenders go beyond what is considered professional, let alone tolerable, then sometimes, the only way to handle it is to raise it to your superiors. If you are not afraid to start cold war with some officemates, then go for the bosses.

3.         THE WRITER

Who are they: Oh these are the most creative kind. They like to spread stories that have no basis at all. They hear a small part of a big story, and they use that to craft a story of their own. They smile at you, but they spread rumors the minute you turn your back.

How I coped: I didn’t give a single F. It’s true that it is painful when you learn that some people are trying to start rumors about you, but what can you do, really? I believe in the phrase that I should never explain anything to anybody, my friends don’t need them and my enemies won’t believe them. And believe it or not, sometimes, it’s through rumors in the office that you can know who your real friends are. It can and will surprise you in so many ways.

Well, I must say, I didn’t expect for this entry to be this difficult to write. Although I have made some – for the lack of a better word – enemies in my previous companies for doing the things above, I also made some good friends, who, like me, like to act professionally in the office.

I wish all the newly grads and the current job-seekers good luck. May you all find your dream jobs and a perfect work environment!

Spread the love! –A! :)