Common Difficult Personalities in the Workplace

Indecisive This co-worker may be well known for affecting the workplace because they are unable to make a decision. They may delay projects because of their inability to decide which option is best. Their inability to make decisions may impact colleagues. Know-It-All The "know-it-all" is a person who THINKS they know everything there is to know about their work, a project, or best processes. This person generally has a high ego and often may disregard the valuable ideas of other employees. The Manipulator The manipulator is well known to cause problems in the workplace by looking for and even creating issues that he or she can take back to their boss. The goal is to prove their worth to their boss, by pointing out issues concerning others. Agreeable Sounding like an ideal employee, the difficulty with this personality trait is that they are excessively agreeable; to the degree that workflow can be damaged. There is also a lack of contributing because this person may agree with everyone else's thoughts. Silent The difficulty in working with someone with a silent personality trait is the lack of contribution. Unlike the complainer, they may never voice their concerns. They may also not share ideas that could be valuable to the organization or other employees. Aggressive A colleague with an aggressive personality can have negative effects on the workplace because of the impact he or she has on the staff. Being defensive, argumentative and even hostile, this person can make other staff feel very uncomfortable at work.

Complainer A complainer in the workplace often complains about concerns or staff. Often they may dwell on the reaction they get from others. They often voice their concerns without offering any resolution

Negativist "Nothing will ever work out" is the motto for this employee, The difficulty in working with this person is the effect he or she has on the workplace. Staff working with a negativist may constantly hear that their ideas will not work.