Whether you are a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience under your belt or are getting to grips with the “real world“ on your first job, if you are working in an office you’ll find some similarities personality wise amongst the people you rub shoulders with.
From the office gossip to the always busy, always stressed workaholic, we’ve identified seven recognisable characters which you might find strangely familiar.
1. The Workaholic
There when you get in, there hours after you’ve left, the workaholic is glued to their desk. Addicted to work, they probably haven’t seen their family in about a week. With a strong work ethic and passion to succeed this individual places work first and everything else second. They could keel over with stress at any given minute and they will probably expect you to have the same mind set about work as they do.
2. The Chatty Cathy
You have mountains of paper work and an email inbox ready to burst, but yet there is a constant voice you can hear in the back of your mind. No this isn’t your conscience getting at you for being behind schedule, this is your work colleague who likes to talk, about anything and everything. Initiating conversation with this co-worker means hours and even days off your working week, so avoid this person around deadlines.
3. The Brown Noser
This individual likes to ask for extra work or be the first to volunteer to take on projects with one thing in mind- pleasing the boss. They love to speak up and praise their superiors to receive an ounce of recognition. Be careful with this one- you may be the one left picking up the pieces when they realise they can’t do it all.
4. The Clock Watcher
They are late, slip out early, delegate the majority of their workload to others but yet somehow still manage to rule the roost in a large office. This person comes to work each day with great reluctance and would much rather be on a beach with a cocktail or beer in hand. The opposite of the workaholic.
5. The Eager Intern
Really eager to learn and full of enthusiasm, the intern may have seemed like a joy on their first week, but after a month of questions it’s starting to get a little draining on both your time and patience. Keen to do well at every possible opportunity they will overthink in order to not put a foot out of place. Share their enthusiasm around the office and allow them to meet some other members of the team.
6. The Gossip Queen
If you ever want to find out about your boss’ love life or the company’s financial situation this is the person you need to speak to. Be careful not to share too much information when they are around unless you want everyone to know about it. A shoulder to cry on they may be, but trustworthy they are not.
7. The Meeting Man
Is your schedule full of meetings about meetings? This person is to blame. They love to be in meetings all day long, probably because they like the sound of their own voice. We wouldn’t be surprised if they scheduled in the nightly bedtime story with their children.
Despite your sector or role it’s more than likely you will come across some of these characters on your way to the coffee machine. Recognise anyone? Feel like there’s another character to add to the list? This is your opportunity to be a “Chatty Cathy“ and let us know.