Tuesday, November 9, 2010

What Type Are You?

I like to think that I'm a very pleasant person to work with. Although I try to always keep a good attitude, I will admit that occasionally I can be a bit moody. I mean, who doesn't have an off day every now and again? Once I realize that I'm in a certain mood I try to check myself and force myself to smile. After all, I'm a pretty positive person so I try to remind myself of reasons why I shouldn't be in a bad mood, but more importantly, I don't want to be labeled by my colleagues as Moody Working Girl.

This got me to thinking about how I look at my colleagues and I realized that there are so many personality types in our office. So here's my list of the Office Personalities where I work:

  • The Busy Body: This is the person who always wants to appear busy. Most people see right through the act and realize that she's just shuffling papers around and not doing any substantive work. Shuffling papers will not help you move up the corporate ladder.
  • Mr. Important: This is the person who not only thinks that he is super important, but wants everyone else to believe that he is super important. (insert eye roll) This person is probably in middle management and wants those not in any sort of management position to know that he is somebody. This person is closely related to The Busy Body.
  • Super Stressed: This is the person who lets every single thing stress her out. Bosses beware of putting this person on a project with Mr. Cool.
  • "S" On My Chest: This is the person who always wants to save the day. You know, the one who wants to be involved in everything and volunteers anytime the boss needs someone to do something, even if it's something that has absolutely no bearing on their performance evaluation, like picking up donuts for the office meeting.
  • The Check Collector: This person comes to work for one reason and one reason only--to collect a check. He isn't giving any extra. He's not staying late. He's not volunteering to do anything. In fact, he's doing the bare minimum to avoid being fired. He will not do any more than is required, so don't ask.
  • The Loner: This person is usually seen eating lunch alone. She rarely socializes with any of her coworkers. She is not part of any office clique and likely will not attend any office social function. She comes to work to work, not to make friends.
  • The Social Chair: This person is often planning the next after hours function. Birthday, Happy Hour, Monday Night Football? He's got it covered. But don't expect him to be the one to buy the birthday card for everyone to sign. He will let The Den Mother take care of that.
  • The Den Mother: This person is the one who handles all of the things your mother would do if she worked with you. Is there an office birthday? Not only will she bake the cake, but she will also slice it and hand it out to everyone. She will buy the card and make sure everyone in the office signs it. When the party is over, she's the one in the breakroom cleaning up the mess. This person is often known as The Busy Body as well.
  • Mr. Needy: This person is the one who acts helpless anytime they are given a task. He always come to you with a lot of questions when the answer is usually right in front of his face. He's always at your desk or in your office wanting you to help him with something. He needs you to hold his hand through everything. Bosses beware of putting Mr. Needy on a project with Ms. Independent.
  • Ms. Independent: This is the person who would rather work alone than in a group. She feels that if something is going to be done right, then it's best that she do it herself. If put on a team with people, please do not put Mr. Needy on her team. It will drive her insane.
  • The Office Gossip: This person knows everything that's going on around the office--who's having marital problems, who's dating who, and who's looking for a new job. If you don't want your business to become part of the conversation, stay far away from The Office Gossip.
  • Mr. Cool: This is the person in the office who is very laid back. Nothing seems to bother him and he's never stressed about anything. His motto is, "I will do what I can today and what doesn't get done today, I will do tomorrow." Deadline? Performance evaluation? Presentation? He won't break a sweat. Bosses often think that pairing this person with Super Stressed will have a calming effect on Super Stressed, but they are wrong. This will only make Mr. Cool lose his cool.

Which one am I? I'm probably a little Ms. Independent and a little Ms. Cool, but I would love to know how my coworkers would describe me. Well, now there is a way to find out what your coworkers think of you. At Honestly.com , you can give and get candid reviews of your boss, coworkers, or business partners. You can even take control of your business reputation by creating your own profile (although I personally think what others have to say about you is more telling than what you have to say about yourself). If someone asked for my personal opinion on my colleagues, would these labels be the main thing that stands out in my mind about them? It's very likely. If one of my colleagues had to give a personal reference on me, what would they say?

Working Girls, do you have any of these types on your office? Are there any that you would add to the list? Would you use a service like Honestly.com to rate your coworkers?

*Please note that these labels are not gender specific. He/she, him/her, and Mr./Ms. are interchangeable.

7 comments:

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

I am definitely Independent/Cool

I find that getting stuff done to my standards is hard unless I do it myself.

I also try to stay cool and calm, but sometimes teams rile me up when they're just here to collect a paycheque and won't do their jobs properly.

Angeline said...

Love this! I think I'd be a cross between "S on my chest" and "Den mother." Even though I am often stressed, I really dislike busy-bodies and make the effort to listen to people instead of brushing them off or being antisocial.

Lawyer Working Girl said...

Oh! One of my coworkers just reminded me of one type I forgot: I'm a Flirt. This person will flirt with every coworker of the opposite sex. If you're particularly attractive, watch out. He might even cross the line a little (at which point you should head straight to HR). Married? Not a problem for I'm A Flirt. He's married too, but probably not for long, according to The Office Gossip.

Lawyer Working Girl said...

(And I should have added that my cover isn't blown. My coworker reminded me to add this one to the list, because he just said "Smooches" to me. My anonymity remains intact. :-))

tee said...

Great list! I could so associate a real life co-worker with every title. Lol. Especially the Mr/Ms Important. I work in RE were everyone thinks they're a big shot. (Even though some make less than you would being a waiter!)

I would definitely tag myself as Ms. Independent. From personal perspective it always seems like you personally can do something better and more quickly.

Miss Feasance, Esq said...

All these types totally exist in my office! In a law firm especially I feel there are more of one type than the other. Mr Important features pretty heavily in the law, as does the stressy type.

Alana said...

How then would your co-workers describe you? I personally would have said that I am independent. I just like to get things done myself. But thinking honestly, my co-workers would describe me as both a busy-body and a loner. I do eat lunch alone, but mostly by choice. I will start inviting some peeps to lunch now. As for the busy-body, everyday I hear "Oh i know you are super busy, but..." because I can only see about 20% of my desk at the moment. I guess its time to have a self-evaluation.

Really great post!