Remember the book, the five people you’ll meet in heaven?

Well you can meet 5 people at work too.
Now, you may say the office and heaven are not even remotely related but there are 5 types of people you meet at the workplace too.

In most cases the people you work with end up being the people closest to you outside of your immediate family. Sometimes closer.

In my experience, here are the 5 people you’ll meet at work.

The Overachiever.
On the positive side, the Overachiever will always go the extra mile to accomplish.. well everything. They are the rock of the office. All achievements go thru them. They are also the one the boss typically turns to to get his agenda completed. This person is often the target of resentment and jealousy in the workplace. No one likes to be shown up. They are seen as the “favorite,” the boss’s”pet.” In short they are looked at as the office “kiss up” and are often the sabotage target of others, most notably the Underminer (see below). No one, except the boss, really likes them but all will gladly ride their coattails.

The Underminer
The Underminer creates havoc wherever they go. They gossip, they spread conspiracy theories. They have the latest dirt on everyone and everything. They feel underappreciated and while expressing their feelings will minimize the accomplishments of others. They have little tolerance for the Overachiever. Yet, the Underminer proclaims to be everyone’s friend. They would never hurt anyone and often express feeling hurt by others. “This person just doesn’t like me.” “Why is everyone mean to me? I’m just trying to help people!” It’s all to divert suspicion. In the history of all time, no one has ever acknowledged being the Underminer.

The Boss Wannabe AKA The One (who wants to be the boss)
This person takes credit for everything. You did something, they mention how you were dependent upon them. All their efforts are to make themselves look good so they can advance upward. They usually respond to everything with “Of course, I knew that already” or “I already told you that. They have difficulty admitting mistakes, they just can’t do it. Mistakes are looked at as marks against their eventual promotion. They also are not above setting others up to fail or at least forcing others to rely on them for everything. They like to control everything. Oh, and the Boss Wannabe will always deny wanting to be the boss.

The Slacker
The Slacker is simply that – a slacker. They get by on minimum effort. They usually have been around the longest. They know exactly what the least amount of effort is required and they always deliver. They typically are very friendly and rely on everyone else. No one messes with them either, they’ve been around the longest and know where the bodies are buried. Another type of coworker that no one ever admits to being. Nope, that’s not me!

The Normal Person
This is the easiest type to recognize. This is you. Afterall you now will be looking at your coworkers in a different way after reading this and so the last type, the Normal Person, has to be you. You try to get along with everyone. Your work late, maybe to make up for arriving later but that’s not the point – You work late! You can see the office politics being played out and you want nothing to do with it. You know how the work should be done but if the boss doesn’t get it well they aren’t paying you to do his work. All the Normal Person wants is to be left alone to do their job.

So, there you have it. The Five People you’ll meet at work.
Admittedly, these 5 types may be somewhat generalized but I bet you’ll recognize them in your workplace.

You may see multiple types in coworkers too.
Just look around the office
It can be very scary.

And then of course there’s the personality type of the boss.
But that’s for another post.

You’ve been warned.

JT