10 Awful Coworkers You’ll Have In Your Twenties
Some entry level positions seem to bring out the worst in people. From sociopaths to weepers, your coworkers don’t always help alleviate the stress. Here are ten awful coworkers you’ll have in your twenties.
1. The Sociopathic Boss
Especially in the food industry and retail, lower level employees rarely receive the respect they deserve. Bosses in particular have a propensity to abuse their employees. This isn’t the case for the majority of bosses. However, because of stress or pure malice, many bosses will gratuitously berate and humiliate their employees. Unfortunately, from what I’ve heard and my own experience, many college students will have at least one bad boss in a lower level position. If you’re continuing to tolerate abuse from a boss, my advice is to seize another opportunity ASAP. We’re often told to endure bad bosses, to brush off their abuse. If your’e wanting a happy life, however, I don’t think enduring the abuse is advisable. Remember that your happiness is much more important than a pay check. Search for jobs and seize the next opportunity. Don’t become mired in disenchantment and resentment.
2. The Immature Employee
I’m not claiming to be the most mature guy, but these awful coworkers are obnoxiously immature. They can’t go a few seconds without making some terrible, crass joke followed by silence. In my experience, they’re nice enough kids and decent employees. In times of stress though, they’re massively difficult to bear. I’m a bit of an anomaly. I don’t respond to stress by making bad jokes. I respond to it by frantically working and consistently screwing up.
3. The Rambler
This next employee is much more benign. Though they can be incredibly irksome, they’re harmless if you can bear their mouths. To be clear, I’m not using rambler synonymously with extrovert. Despite my introversion, I’ve met many extroverts that I’ve ended up loving on the job. A rambler, on the other hand, tends to speak unnecessarily long with little regard for their coworkers or the customers. They believe that every random thought and mundane experience is worth discussing in detail. If you’ve ever had to deal with one of these employees, you’ll recognize the mechanical smile and nod you have to give them. Every response has to be as short or else you run the risk of talking to them for hours. Compared to other employees on this list, the rambler isn’t particularly insufferable. But they are generally disliked among other employees.
4. The Fake Ass
These awful coworkers can certainly overlap with the sociopathic boss. These employees have utter disregard for their coworkers and fake interactions with the customers. One second their feigning warmth toward a customer. The next they’re shouting invective at their coworkers. Like I said in the intro, positions of authority generally require work and resultant stress. An outburst once and a great while is perfectly excusable and an insincere smile is sometimes necessary. However, constant abuse toward other coworkers is a much different beast.
5. The Perfectionist
A certain degree of perfectionism is a great asset to have on the job. But for these employees, the scrupulous slowness with which they perform their jobs sacrifices efficiency. I must admit that at times I’ve been this employee. Realize that there is a fine line between efficiency and assiduity in a job. The job of any employee is to find the best balance between the two. Again, perfectionism is a great asset as long as it doesn’t impair other aspects of your job. Your coworkers won’t be too happy with you if cleaning tables takes forty minutes.
6. The Careless Employee
By contrast, these next awful coworkers sacrifice precision for speed. After awhile, it becomes apparent that they don’t care about efficiency or assiduity. They’re just focused on finishing their job as soon as possible. They’ll often order you to speed up for the sake of efficiency, but their selfish intent is transparent. They just want to go home or take another smoke break. They have no regard for the customers or the company, but they’re perfectly willing to let you bear the weight of both.
7. The Smelly Employee
I’m sure at this point I sound like a complete asshole. For the record, I don’t find these employees awful. I just wish that they would slap on some deodorant. Especially when you’re in a hot kitchen with a bunch of perspiring bodies, you want to be able to focus on the task at hand rather than severe body odor. I don’t despise the smell at all. I just would rather not smell it on the job. That being said, I have much more sympathy for this employee than dislike. All too often they’re the subject of gossip in the workplace.
8. The Tattle Tell
I don’t believe in creating alliance among coworkers or staying loyal to your peers regardless of their actions. But unless someone is flagrantly violating company policy, I wouldn’t advise telling the boss. You may think you’ll come out unscathed, but bosses look down on trifling beefs between coworkers. So next time you have an aching to tell the boss, weigh your options and choose the best route. Often that’s refraining from tattle telling on another coworker.
9. The Brute
These awful coworkers purposefully intimidate to gain respect. Although all they truly end up obtaining is dislike, these employees are sometimes presumptuous enough to intimidate those in authority as well as other coworkers. They’re typically socially awkward individuals who function off of insecurity. Because they believe you’ll dislike them regardless, they use intimidation as a defense mechanism. All in all, they may be pitiful individuals, however, given their often violent nature, my sympathy for them only extends so far. If you can break through the facade, these people can be likable. It’s just a matter of how willing they are to show themselves.
10. The Weeper
I do have sympathy for these employees, as they can’t help their excessive emotions. Still, if they’re being fair, they wouldn’t blame me for ignoring the tears. A few tears every now and then is fine in a stressful job. These people, on the other hand, struggle mightily to deal with the stress. I myself am an emotional person but never to that extent. I’m fine with sensitivity and strong emotions. I just don’t think that a fast-pace job is felicitous for such a sensitive person. To clarify, these employees aren’t awful. They’re just annoying.
