We can’t pick our family in the same way that we can’t pick our work mates. For better or worse, you’re just going to have to learn to deal with them, even if they rub you the wrong way.
Because after all, just like that annoying little brother or that incredibly irritating older sister, you’re stuck with them (at least for the time being), and you’re going to be spending a whole lot of time with them.
Last week we cast the KarryOn spotlight on three of the worst offenders when it comes to work mate etiquette: The Food Thief, The Perennial Criticiser, and The Health Nut.
But we’re not done yet – not by a long shot. Australian offices are swarming with annoying colleague archetypes that bear mentioning.
Here are three more of the worst work colleagues that god forbid you have to work with.
The know it all
Source: takhte-sarah.blogspot.com
“No, so what you have to do is…”
“That’s not how you do it, see, what you’ve got to do is…”
“So I was like, dude, do you know what that is even about?”
*FACE PALM*
Have you ever worked with someone who thought they knew the answer to every-single-question on the planet? Did they have that bad habit of dominating a conversation and reflecting everything back to themselves – how they felt, what they thought?
And are they the type of person who would be the first to share their “thoughts” in a meeting, which is really just a cover for them to stand on their metaphorical pedestal and enlighten the rest of us on how little we really know?
Then I’ve got news for you o’ buddy o’ pal: you work with a know-it-all, and you better get used to always being in the wrong.
The loud talker
Source: lockerdome.com
“And then she said to Jack that Sarah was upset with her. And then Sarah got pissed off… Yeah, exactly, that’s what I said but – well, that’s true, I never thought of that. So anyway, yesterday I was coming home on the train and this telemarketer called me, asking me whether I wanted to sign with Virgin. And so I was like ‘no’ I’m with Telstra. But then, get this, he started telling me that…”
If you feel as if you know an awful lot about one of your colleague’s lives, even though you hardly talk to them, then you’re probably sharing an office with a loud talker.
These guys talk at an 11 – consistently – and don’t know how to talk without projecting their voice to the other side of town.
How to manage them? Wear ear plugs.
The never shuts up-er-er
Source: gluebomb.com
Never one to have nothing to say, the never-shut-ups around us apparently cannot pick up on those subtle social cues that indicate that the person they’re speaking to has since exited the conversation.
Instead of interpreting the other person’s vacant look on their face correctly (Them: okay, stay calm, don’t engage, slowly back away, cease eye contact…) they take you physically being there as a carte blanche to kill you softly with words.
The best way to get out of this situation ALIVE is to respond to a never-shut-up-er-er colleague the same way you’d respond to a grizzly bear on your path: back away slowly, and reach for your capsicum spray (OPTIONAL).