Employees From The Upper To The Lowest Rungs Of Hell, Part 2/2

In Part 1 of this hub, I addressed the first five of ten types of difficult and hellish employees. Now, I shall discuss the other five types.

(6) The Obsequious Sycophant- this is the employee who sees you as a stepping stone to his/her goals. He/she is quite adept at corporate gamemanship. It is his/her mantra that the way to the corner office is by being nicey nice to the superior in question. He/she is especially friendly and cooperative towards superiors. However, superiors should be extremely wary of this type of employee.

This employee views the superior as highly beneficial regarding the former's gameplan to put it succinctly. He/she will often go the extra mile whether it is work and/or other office activities. However.........yes, there is a however, he/she is doing not for benefit of the company and/or the corporation but for his/her own interests. He/she wants to be "in" with the superior in question, either for a promotion or some other type of job favor. In essence, he/she is being the perfect employee in order to garner some favors from the superior in return.

The old adage comes to mind, I will wash your hands if you wash mine, no more, no less. Beware, this type of employee can be quite deadly if he/she believes that he/she has been overlooked and/or was not granted what he/she deserves. He/she can be a superior's worst enemy and the saying hell has no fury has a more abysmal meaning.

(7) The Tattler- this employee loves to cause dissension between coworkers and superiors. He/she is the type of employee who believes that his/her fellow coworkers are up to no good. So since the supervisor/superior is only doing the best that he/she knows how, this employee decides to be the supervisor's/superior's "eyes" so to speak.

However, this employee will also be on "friendly" relations with the coworkers lest they become too suspicious. He/she is playing on both sides of the fence so to speak. By being "open" and "friendly" to the coworkers, he/she can get the deepest and most privy information about how they feel about the job, supervisor/superior, and/or the corporate atmosphere.

This employee subsequently report this information to the supervisor/superior in turn for some special perks whether it is an easier and/or more desirable assignment, more time off, and/or other job related benefits. He/she often receives more favorable treatment by the supervisor/superior in question as a result. However, this person is highly dangerous and deadly and is not to be trusted for he/she can even turn on a supervisor/superior who refuses to listen to the tattler and make his/her decisions regarding the matter.

(8) The Bider- this employee is almost near retirement. He/she feels that he/she has paid all his/her dues. He/she further believes that he/she has worked hard so it is time for him/her to relax and bide him/her time before eventual retirement. He/she contends that since he/she is near retirement age, the supervisor/superior in question should just ease up on him/her and not to expect him/her to work as hard as he/she has done previously.

This employee often takes umbrage if a supervisor/superior informs him/her as long as he/she is employed, he/she is expected to work a full day. Of course, this is not to his/her liking at all. The reasoning is that since he/she is older now, the supervisor/superior should take this into consideration and give him/her some breaks before retirement. After all, he/she is entitled.

(9) The Martyr-this employee loves to go the extra mile in terms of his/her work. It is nothing for him/her to volunteer for tasks that no one else will do. He/she is the employee who will stay after work willingly to finish the job at hand. He/she will even pitch in to help others when they are in a pinch.

The reward for this, you ask? Well, the reward is more and more work. Because he/she has proven himself/herself to be Old Reliable, supervisors/superiors and coworkers think of nothing of piling more work on him/her. After all, he/she have proven to be diligent regarding job assignments in the past without question. He/she is regularly known as Mr./Ms. Put Upon. Well, he/she now feels unappreciated and will endlessly lament as to how he/she is being taken for granted.

However, this employee adamantly refuses to set boundaries, limits and say no because that does not fit with his/her image of being THE GOOD EMPLOYEE. So he/she continues to do the work and whine to others how used, abused, and unappreciated he/she is, how they need HIM/HER and HE/SHE is BETTER than the other employees.

(10) The One Who Would Be King/Queen- this is the employee who has the capability to be a manager/supervisor; however, he/she may not possess the key qualities/qualifications that the company/corporation is looking for. He/she routinely trains other employees and/or even new supervisors/superiors. However, for some reason or another, he/she is NEVER promoted into a supervisory/leadership title.

While some employees are quite comfortable with being the power behind the throne, others can be highly contentious regarding this issue. We are addressing the second type of such employees. Since he/she did not receive the promotion although he/she has performed quasisupervisory duties in the past, he/she intends to let the new supervisor know WHO IS THE ACTUAL BOSS.

In fact, this employee intends to undermine the new supervisor/superior at every chance since he/she is the unsung leader and the other employees are more familiar with him/her than they are with the new supervisor/superior. This employee can even be more devious, often telling the new supervisor/superior the wrong information in order to make the latter look ineffectual which would eventually led to the latter's termination. Of course, this employee will deny giving the new supervisor/superior the wrong information. With the new supervisor's/superior's termination, it is hoped by this employee that he/she will finally get the position as he/she was the TRUE, UNSUNG supervisor/superior and it is about time that the powers to be took notice!

Yes, difficult and hellish employees are part of corporate life. These employees create a toxic atmosphere which results in innumerable emotional, mental, financial, and psychological costs. In some companies, such as the civil service, it is oftentimes difficult to terminate such employees because of the strong union presence. However, in private companies, if a supervisor/superior carefully document the behavior of the difficult employee and establish a paper trail, there is no reason, unless there is severe corporate politics, to eventually terminate such an employee.

In summation, I have described 10 types of difficult and/or hellish employees. Such employees are oftentimes quite problematic to their superiors and coworkers alike. What these employees fail to realize that the corporation does not exist for them, they are employed to contribute to the corporation. To reiterate, difficult and/or hellish employees cost the corporations monies in terms of psychological and emotional stress. The workplace should be one where mature employees work effectively and cohesively in order to create a harmonious and productive workplace.