The 12 types of obnoxious people in your office (rap star edition)

The author provides a field guide to the annoying and destructive personalities in the workplace, and gives each one a rapper name. Lil Whine, anyone?

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If it weren’t for that tiny heart of darkness, after all, we’d all be in the race for the Polly Anna award. Now that wouldn’t be very interesting for a workplace of personalities, would it? You have my permission: Let’s embrace the dark and ominous side of people. It’s where the funny stuff lives.

Take 50 or 200 or 10,000 people, each with a barely controlled quirk, and what do you have? The eclectic place we know as the office. And in the workplace, tiny behavioral quirks blossom into toxic, fabulous, exciting, and interesting personalities. It’s all good. And it’s what makes life more interesting for all of us.

On this list of 12 personalities you’re sure to recognize one or two (or maybe even 12) with whom you work or live. I will not strand you with a simple description; I will arm you with a suggestion or two to help manage personality quirks—in others and in yourself—to maintain relative harmony in the workplace.

To keep it fun and on-trend, let’s give each one a pseudo-rap name. That way, next time you look at one of your co-workers, friends, or boss, you’ll see more than a personality—you’ll hear the booming music too.

That is what I define as a talented culture. Wink.

1. The Gossip, a.k.a. Snoop Diig

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