Top 6 Coworkers To Beware by Dave Caruso
Frenemy
This manipulator seeks to gain your trust by pretending to be your ally and friend. They will call you after work or suggest going to lunch in an attempt to share with you their gripes about management and other coworkers. This is in an effort to loosen you up and get you to make similar derogatory statements about others or share any inside information you may have learned about someone. This person cannot be trusted to keep what you have told them in confidence, and will usually begin to share your statements with others in an attempt to cast you in a bad light and make themselves look better.
Rumor Mill
This is the person who gets satisfaction from broadcasting every juicy morsel of gossip they hear about others of a personal or business nature. Examples would include talking about romantic involvements among employees, possible business changes such as layoffs, or why someone was fired.
Backstabber
The Backstabber has no qualms about throwing someone under the bus if it serves to advance their career in some measure. They will create the false impression that they work in the company’s best interests and report to management every error or conduct violation that they see in anyone around them.
Corporate Sociopath
This individual seeks advancement in the corporation by any means possible without regard to the impact it may have on others careers. They are remorseless and incapable of feeling empathy for anyone in the way of their climb to the next rung on the corporate ladder. They are usually emotionless and driven workaholics that are both humorless and robotic in their interactions with others.
Sycophant
The Sycophant is the “Eddie Haskell” of the organization who uses flattery on those in positions of power around him to ingratiate himself. This is usually a person with weaker skills than their teammates and therefore uses charm to try to level the playing field.
Teacher With Pets
The Teacher With Pets is in a leadership role and shows favoritism to some of her direct reports. She is motivated by personal perceptions of individuals rather than by maintaining an unbiased results based approach to measuring performance. This creates discord and disfunctionality among the team as signs of favoritism become more evident.
If you are working around any of these types of coworkers, the best advice is to maintain a professional and dedicated work ethic within your position in the company. Work to live but do not live to work since your job is only one of the many aspects of your life. Always remember that “loose lips sink ships” (or careers) and keep your friends close and your “frenemies” closer. To quote Eleanor Roosevelt,
“great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
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In: On The Job Advice · Tagged with: Business Changes, Business Nature, career, Corporate Ladder, coworkers, Dave Caruso, Derogatory Statements, Eddie Haskell, Empathy, False Impression, Flattery, Gripes, job, Juicy Morsel, Layoffs, Leadership Role, Manipulator, Qualms, Romantic Involvements, Rumor Mill, Sycophant, Workaholics
