I’ve been working since I was eighteen and I’ve come to realize that the workplace is no different from school – learning and working are never ending processes. There’s always more to know and there always more assignments to complete.

And just like school, among your workmates you’ll come across a number of different personalities: the chatterbox, the comedian, the observer, the star, the slacker, and the troublemaker.

I consider myself the star and the occasional jokester. How about you?

Workplace personality #1: “The Troublemaker”

These are the unofficial directors of the company, hijacking the right to oversee their team members’ performance and evaluate their existence.

These natural interrogators have something to say about everything – constantly giving unsolicited advice, stating the obvious, and repeatedly asking obnoxious questions.

Workplace personality #2: “The Slacker”

These are the lay-a-bout individuals who do the bare minimum when it comes to work. These energy savers do just enough to keep their jobs and little or nothing to increase their productivity.

They often prioritize their personal goals over their main tasks during working hours, will waste time and then complain about the heavy workload when a project deadline gets closer.

Workplace personality #3: “The Comedian”

Next up are the comedians. These are the jokesters who can find the humour in everything and anything.

When the work gets hectic, they are the ones who will cut the tension in the room with their sharp wit and timely jokes.

Workplace personality #4: “The Star”

These individuals are role model employees who carry out their duties in an efficient and timely manner.

These optimizers are willing to go beyond the call of duty to ensure customer satisfaction and task execution, and they work just as well independently as they do with others.

Workplace personality #5: “The Chatterbox”

These individuals are the office’s storytellers. And without hesitation, they’ll tell you their life story in great detail.

Being born oversharers, they hate secrecy and are proud supporters of the “Honesty is the Best Policy” campaign.

Workplace personality #6: “The Observer”

Last, but certainly not least, we have the information hubs of the office.

These reporters share the office’s daily news and drama of the week to every passing ear.

They can tell you who is single, who is married to whom, and who lives where. Not to mention, their office politics radar is ‘up like 7.’

When these different personalities interact with each other clashes are bound to happen . But your personal prejudices shouldn’t affect the level at which you do your job.

As employees, we spend most of our time in the workplace and so we need to learn to coexist with our co-workers in order to maintain our sanity and efficiency.

I believe the key to team members working harmoniously together is accepting that everyone is on the same team. If one person fails, we all fail. And, hey, at the end of the day, we all have the same goal: meet the organization’s objectives. Moreover, some projects require collaboration between departments, and that means accepting the differences we all bring to the table.

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