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A while ago I asked one of my Baby Boomer Brothers about the people he had worked with during his career, and he said something along the lines that he didn’t like most of the people he worked with.
This resonated with me. It’s true we work with random people who we don’t know too well, sometimes don’t particularly enjoy being around, don’t know where they grew up, and who see the world from a different perspective. It’s a somewhat sad part of life that we spend more time with these people, often, then our own families and friends. Seems senseless in a way. Why do we do this? Why is the system set up this way? Why not spend the time we spend working with more people we like and respect?
I have worked with plenty of good people I have liked, respected and enjoyed being around. But there have been more than a few – a lot to be honest – whom I felt miserable and uncomfortable with.
Which got me thinking about those people I’ve worked with whom I haven’t cared for. Full disclosure: I wouldn’t be surprised if they felt the same about me because I’m selfish, insecure, and all that. I’m human, in other words, but hopefully not as bad to work with as the types of people you’re about to learn about.
A few stand out for being unimaginably mean or rude or cunning or untrustworthy or ruthless or all of the above.
It’s this “all of the above” group I want to focus on here. You are about to read descriptions of the worst co-workers I ever worked with. Rather than reveal their actual names I gave them stereotypical descriptions because I don’t want any of them finding out I wrote about what bad co-workers they were because no telling what they might do to me. You can never be too careful dealing with these people. They’re vengeful, indictee and unpredictable.
The Psychotic Maniac
I’ll start with a guy I call Psychotic Maniac who ran a department in a business I worked for. I remember riding in a car at a trade show with a half dozen co-workers who all knew what this guy was about, and I shared the idea that it wouldn’t surprise me if while we were out of town he was back in the headquarters office blowing it up, causing an explosion, sending the company into a chaotic ball of fire and smoke. And gleeful about it in a way none of us could tap into.
I was serious. It would not have surprised me if the guy nuked our corporate headquarters. Psycho would look at you and lie, use intimidation tactics, manipulate your emotions, send overpoweringly insensitive personal attack emails, say anything at any time to get you to feel worried and that he might ruin your life if you didn’t do what he wanted. He’d crush your ego then spit on it.
Everything and anything were in play with this guy – at any moment. He did not care at all about anyone but himself and his power. Scary person all the way; never want to see him again. I imagine he’s somewhere being a Psychotic Maniac still and that’s not good for the world. Or in jail.
Belittle Brain
Then there was Belittle Brain who would make sure to never say anything positive to make you feel validated and comfortable. All comments were designed to condescend and convince others he was smarter than everyone else and get you thinking about finding another job because he made you feel you weren’t smart enough to work on his team.
A name dropper who wanted you to believe he knew top leaders in industry, a guy who truly thought he was brilliant (but wasn’t), a guy who if he wanted to attack you he would without caring at all what you thought or how it affected you emotionally. His criticism ripped your heart out. Claiming to be uncommonly clever, he talked about his superpower: strategic thinking. No one cared nor believed it. Yet he kept reminding us which made for toxic interactions every single time, each day, every conference call until we all had to get away from him forever and oh how much better life is now.
Half Truth
There was another guy, Half Truth, who would constantly ask you to do something for him without sharing the full story and his selfish motivations because he knew if you did you would question him and probably not do it because it was wrong or illegal. He would feel no qualms putting me in a precarious situation so it wouldn’t be him.
All Me
Then there’s the super into himself guy, All Me, who at work used his power to shut you up and tell you to not say anything. His message: You don’t know anything so shut up. I loathe people who treat me or anyone that way.
All Me doesn’t believe you know anything and he knows everything and he just wants you to do what he tells you and has no interest in your opinion because he’s sure his opinion is worth more because he makes a lot more money than you and is an executive and you aren’t and he got promoted because he’s better than you.
Self-Preserver
And there’s the sneaky one, the Self Preserver, who made a big mistake then did everything she could to cover it up even if that meant causing other people to suffer profoundly from that bad decision. A cat-like cuss of a creature, the Self Preserver would do anything to keep power no matter how many people had to wake up miserable because of bad decisions this person made.
Above all else, this person was all about holding on to money and control and it didn’t matter what happened to anyone else. Just survive, baby. That was her mindset.
These are the worst types of people I worked with. I’m sure there are other stereotypes.
What’s the point I hear you asking? My point is this: If you find yourself dealing with someone behaving like the creatures above, get away from them and never come back and you will never regret it. These people will sizzle your soul if you allow them to and won’t even know or care. They won’t attend your funeral. They won’t care if you die. They will continue to do what they do and you will never be able to reason with them because they don’t care about anything but their own reasoning, their own money, their own egos, their own power and their own control.
Get away from them. And never act like they do because it’s wrong in so many ways, the most important of which is they hurt other people and that’s not why we’re here.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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