Under the Hill - Courage Under Hire

I’m a journalist and I spent a majority of my career working alone. I’d write my story, turn it into my editor and move on to my next piece. When I changed careers and had to start working very closely with co-workers it was a shock to my system. My co-workers were clearly what I called toxic co-workers and my courage was faltering at each slight. Blaming me for their failures? Check. Appropriating my ideas as their own? Check. Trying to keep me down so that they still felt relevant and superior? You betcha. The whole experience was so traumatic for me that I even toyed with quitting. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, I still liked eating, sleeping indoors and above all shopping, and I decided to stick it out. I don’t regret that decision. I’ve learned a lot at my current job, but the whole experience got me thinking, how much courage do we need on the job?

Sometimes going to work seems like preparing for war because working with Toxins can drive you bananas. You’re literally at your wits end and have to steel yourself to go to the office. The good news is that if you recognize the signs early you can stop them in their tracks and save yourself tons of stress. So pay attention because Toxic co-workers tend to fall into a couple of categories:

The Passive Aggressive: This person will smile in your face and talk sweetly to you, all the while talking about you behind your back. They tend to take everything you say and do as a slight or a threat to their authority, so when you actually do something they can comment on they are particularly nasty. These are the most annoying Toxins of them all because they do such a bad job hiding their dislike for you. Fortunately we tend to be smarter than them and easily find ways around their idiotic- ness.

The Butt Kisser: These people are so far up your bosses butt that you’re tempted to send a search party out just to see how long it takes to find them. They live to stroke the boss’s ego. In fact, their still employed because the boss likes them. Just ignore these chumps. Your work will speak itself.

The Saboteur: These people feel threatened by you and try to run you and your ideas down at every turn. Be ever vigilant. They’re out to get you! Once you have them contained, though, feel free to feel sorry for them. After all, only somebody with such low self-esteem would be so threatened by your job that they’d neglect to do their own.

The Ditz: Do you remember how hard it was for you to get hired? Do you really think that office “dummy” had to go through any less hoops than you did? These office challenged individuals are rarely as ditzy as they seem. In fact, nine times out of ten they are using their dumb act to keep you off guard. These people tend to be very manipulative and will play dumb to either pump you for information or to get you to do their work for them. Don’t fall for this game.

The Rival: From the moment you started working you and such and such hated each other like poison. You’re always trying to one up each other and everything seems to be a battle of wills. In my opinion, this Toxin is actually help. They push you to the limit and let you know exactly what you’re capable of. Keep it civil and may the best co-worker win!

till next week…