4 Annoying Office Types and How to Handle Them

Everyone knows one of these jerks in their office. How do you deal with them?

Climbing the career ladder can be tough but rewarding, and if you have great colleagues the job becomes much easier. Yet every office has that one person who manages to irritate everyone at once – and it’s everyone’s job to deal with them.

Here are some of the most common types of office jerk, as well as some tips to handle them.

1. Mrs Shout

Some people can’t distinguish between their inside and outside voices, but we’re not talking about Mr Loud. This is Mrs Shout – the colleague who gets stressed easily and then passes this on by yelling at anyone they perceive to be at fault. It rarely helps to get the job done and often hurts people’s feelings along the way.

Top tip: Take a deep breath and calmly ask them to lower their voice. If they refuse, keep your cool and tell them that their behaviour isn’t helping, so you’ll talk to them when they’ve calmed down a little. Then walk away.

2. Mr Jargon

“So, I thought we could touch base about actioning these solutions going forward. Maybe we should have a thought-shower and get some blue-sky thinking going on?”

There’s always someone who thinks that if they use enough buzzwords and company jargon in a sentence they’ll sound well-informed and impressive. In reality, they just sound full of hot air.

Top tip: Make a point of avoiding these terms when you speak to them, and maybe even ask them to explain some of the stranger terms they use. Eventually they will start to pick up on the fact that their choice of words isn’t helping.

3. Miss Poorly

It’s truly admirable that so many brave office workers will keep coming in when they’re ill. Often, they simply don’t want to let their colleagues down. That said, when people come into a busy office with a contagious illness they immediately risk passing their germs on to everybody else in the room. What’s more, they’re not likely to be fully productive, so they may end up behind on work anyway.

Top tip: If you spot Miss Poorly soldiering on at her desk, ask her if she really wouldn’t be better off taking a day or two off to get back to her best. If she doesn’t, grab some antibacterial hand gel and use it.

4. Mr Lazy

There are many different types of laziness that take their toll in the office. On the one hand, people who don’t get their job done and make your life much harder as a result. On the other, there’s the really serious problem: never making the tea.

It’s important to get to know this colleague before you decide on a course of action – he may have a huge workload, and he may genuinely just be too busy. But if you’re definitely dealing with Mr Lazy, it has to be made clear when you need tasks completed.

Top tip: Set calendar reminders for deadlines and projects to make sure he’s got plenty of warning. If he isn’t making the tea or cleaning the kitchen, put a rota in place.

Phil is one such annoying office character. He is the guy at work who everyone loves to hate, yet he makes £10,000 more than you. Find out how to beat Phil with executive education courses at LSBF!