These characters work with you – unfortunately

Let’s line up some of the suspects who make the workplace so blasted difficult. They fit these descriptions:

“ Misanthropes. These are the people who haven’t had a good thing to say about anyone or anything since 1963. They hate everything the organization stands for, and they constantly belittle everyone in the organization. Their anger is often palpable.

“ Nitpickers. They are the hypercritical people who criticize the way everybody else does their work. They often are very specific in their criticism, but usually very petty. The nitpickers separate from the constructively critical in that their criticism seldom relates to substantive issues. Nitpickers crave power and try to gain it from criticism.

“ Rules sticklers. These people abuse power, too. They constantly remind you of every little organizational rule in an attempt to exercise control over you and to discourage any original thinking. They don’t want anyone else to succeed so they play hall monitor.

“ Power mongers. They make no pretense about their efforts to control. Every working minute is spent gathering, consolidating and abusing power. Some are actually sadistic in their use of authority. Many of my e-mails describe these people in excruciating detail. Their flagrant decisions seem exclusively designed to inflict hurt and pain.

“ Cheaters and liars. Much has been written recently about fabricators, plagiarists and number manipulators. Journalism and major corporations have been plagued by dishonest people who apparently believe truth is an optional concept.

“ Finger pointers. These folks can have a piece of a broken vase in their hand and will still insist that they are not responsible for breaking it. Shifting blame has become almost a cultural imperative. People come up with outlandish explanations such as arguing that the vase broke because of faulty manufacturing or because “management” put the vase in the wrong place. Personal responsibility is becoming a quaint relic.

“ Troublemakers. These are the truly dangerous people who constantly urge “you and him to fight.” They spread falsehoods to stir up trouble and tension. Their motives usually come back to that old reliable – power. Making trouble empowers them.

“ The pleasers. Just as dangerous as troublemakers are the people who believe it’s their obligation to tell everyone anything they want to hear. Some of these people are congenitally unable to let anyone leave their presence unhappy. The problem is the truth is bound to be a problem for some. If you’re not going to get an assignment or a new position, you need to be told that candidly. But these people find that incredibly difficult.

“ The angry ones. These people can be set off by any problem big or small. Their anger is usually completely disproportionate to the problem. Their angry displays can change the entire tenor of a workplace. Nobody knows what will set them off or when they’ll blow. As a result, everybody walks around as if they’re on eggshells and productive work is strangled.

“ The back benchers. They just want to be told what to do. An independent thought has never crossed their minds. These people do only what they’re told in precisely the way they’re told to do it. They avoid responsibility that way and they’re able to blame anything that goes wrong on someone else. They never find the joy in innovation or creativity.

Unless I miss my guess, you have identified several people who match the above descriptions, most likely in your own workplace. But finding fault with others is the easy part.

I am afraid at least four and maybe five of these behaviors have described me at one time or another. Your workplace will only get healthier if you look inward to spot the behaviors above that describe you – and then fix them.

Tip for your search: Carefully consider this list. Now think about your co-workers. Be honest, could they be labeling you as a problem in one or more of these areas? What are you doing to make them think that?

Resource for your search: “Why Smart People Do Dumb Things” by Mortimer Feinberg and John J. Tarrant (Fireside, 1995)