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The 25 Species of Coworkers

Alice Handley and Kayla Baxter | Excelle

The Gossip


What they do:

Maybe there was some mistake in the hiring process, because The Gossip seems to be under the impression that their entire job description is “talking about other people.” Unfortunately for you, The Gossip lives for the latest office scandal, whether it’s actually true or not. The Gossip spends their days listening in on conversations, dropping hints, and tarnishing reputations. The most dangerous part about the Gossip is that they are everywhere. No conversation is safe when the Gossip is within earshot (they may pretend they’re listening to music on their headphones, but we know better.)

How to deal:

The Gossip can be difficult to deal with because more often than not they are outwardly very sweet and kind — to gain your trust and learn your secrets. Then, all bets are off if your secret somehow gets them higher in the pecking order. The best way to deal with The Gossip, in our opinion, is just to ignore them. And whatever you do, don’t give them details about your own life or repeat what they have said. Before you repeat a so-called juicy tidbit, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it harmless? Is it necessary? If it isn’t, don’t repeat it. Don’t encourage them!

Next: The Slacker →


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    kateperez

    4 months ago

    20 comments

    What about the tattle-tale? That person sure can get you down! He/She can mis-perceive your silence as being rude when you are just busy and go crying to the supervisor. He/She can find anything to tell on you for, even the most benign stuff, and then YOU get called on the carpet.

    What about the volatile personality? The one who will blow up just because you borrowed their thumb tack and forgot to return it. The simplest thing will set off this personality and you better watch out because that stapler that they borrowed is likely to come flying back over the cubicle wall to you.

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    DemonicButterfly

    4 months ago

    320 comments

    I definitly see some past and present co-workers, and maybe even some small shades of myself on some of my not so good days. I would like to add one more however.. the "Pot Stirrer" the one that is never happy unless they are causing trouble for someone else. I have one of those right now at work. However in a way I suppose she has made me a better supervisor, I have to keep on my toes to stay ahead of the mind games and such.

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    CedarNeedles

    5 months ago

    2 comments

    This is great and I see several co-workers in this lot. Buutt, there are so many more. Like the Unorganized manager who is always late for meetings, if they show up at all; and thats for the meetings they scheduled. The Internet cruiser who always seems to be on the internet, talking to a family member or im-ing a friend when you walk by their desk, and then you are asked to help them out since they just can't get everything done (and they get paid more than you to boot). Or the Aging Technocrat who still thinks DOS is the state of the art operating systems and has temper fits when you ask why he made the decision he did about something.

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    Account Removed

    5 months ago

    This is great. Some of these are my co-workers, too :D. Funny.

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    LaurieSheppard

    5 months ago

    12 comments

    Truth is there are as many types as there are you and me, but there are some recognizable types - we just have to be careful not to "type-cast" them. (like the emoticons).
    Laurie Sheppard @creatingatwill.com and @positivethinkingway.com

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    steph897

    5 months ago

    18 comments

    I loved this article! It is nice to find the titles of the people you work with and have it explain. Very funny :)

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    psichick09

    5 months ago

    2 comments

    This was great. I see a lot of my co-workers in them. However, one is missing. The know-it-all. And trust me, I have one at work that loves to let us know-it-all. Maybe I should deal with her as the talker...give them a time limit and walk away. ;)

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    l3wilso

    5 months ago

    202 comments

    Great, but I have to agree why show management anything incriminating on a co-worker? That goes a little far and definitely makes it hard for others to trust you.

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    Becky_Regan

    5 months ago

    14 comments

    Oh my gosh, I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I could totally see some of my coworkers in this!

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    bethanierose

    5 months ago

    680 comments

    I agreed with most of the advice except tips for dealing with the partier. Is it really necessary to take incriminating pictures of the partier, and to make sure Management sees them? Doesn't that kind of push you into the role of suck up? Other than that, I thought this was a great list of general office types to be mindful of.

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