You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives.
News flash: You can’t always choose your coworkers, either.
The workplace brings together an assortment of people and personalities who might otherwise not mix. Personal lives, backgrounds, beliefs, education and previous experience come to the office as an integral part of each employee.
There is one common thread, though: the need to cooperate with each other in order to be productive. Like it or not, unlike gatherings where we can walk away if we’re not fond of the people there, we need to get along with everyone at the office.
Here are two of five people you might meet at work and how deal with them:
The Gossip
If the gossip involves personal matters about coworkers, simply refuse to listen and either change the subject, or say you don’t feel comfortable talking about private business.
The Slacker
Often sighted in larger offices where it’s easier to hide, the Slacker is skilled at doing as little as possible, and regularly takes credit for work done by others. He’ll accept all the praise for a project, but forget to mention contributions from coworkers. He’s also good at delegating tasks, leaving little left over for him to do – even when he’s not in a position of authority. “You’re better than me at writing this type of letter, will you please do it?” and “Can I pick your brain on the ABC project – I love your ideas” are part of his game to get you to do his work.
Remember that “helping” is a different word than “doing.” You can help the Slacker by suggesting you’d be happy to look over their draft letters – after he/she writes them. In other words, help them to improve their skills if they put out the initial effort. If this doesn’t work, simply say you have a lot on your plate and can’t take on anything else at the moment.
If you are not given credit when credit is due, it’s up to you to set the record straight. You can ask the Slacker in private to correct the false impression, and if he doesn’t, decide at what point it’s important enough for you to step forward and claim ownership for your part.