Five Generic Employee Types That Stand Out

Five Generic Employee Types That Stand Out

Throughout my career working within both private and public sectors, I have worked with a large variety people and personality types. Over the years it has occurred to me that there are generic categorisations of around 5 types of employee that really stand out in a workplace and so I have decided to compile this article based on my personal findings. Do you know anyone that fits well into one of the categorisations below?

1. Mr/Miss Perfect - The 'high achiever' with great people skills. This person is fantastic to work with and admired by work colleagues. Normally very busy people with  little time on their hands. They are brilliant at their job and help others where possible and usually have great customer service attitude. Although there people will also have flaws they are easily accepted because of their input in all other areas. They are approachable and well respected at all levels.

Common Traits:
Bright
Engaging
Approachable
Helpful
Productive
Innovative
Insightful
Team player
Respected / Respecting
Caring
Charismatic
Hard to find


2. Mr/Miss "Know it All" - Usually a High Achiever with very poor people and interpersonal skills. These people are usually very intelligent but on the other-hand also very self centred, bossy and vain causing people to generally dislike them and/or the way they operate. It is hard to get a word in edgeways when this person is in your meeting! These employees will normally do well due to them being very bright and pushy but can often cause grievances or issues within a business.

Common Traits:
Very bright or even genius
Arrogant
Directly annoying
Sometimes rude
Busy
Poor inter-personal skills
Demanding
Loud
Provocative
Self-centred
Innovative
Pushy
Productive
Gets things done (Their Way)

3. Mr/Miss "Stealing a Living" - Generally a poor performer who does as little as possible in order to get by. These people like to ride on others hard work and often big themselves up around work they had very little input into. Generally they can talk the talk and walk the walk but will nearly always do as little as possible when it comes to getting their hands dirty. These people are generally complacent and lazy and prefer to spend their days browsing the internet and watching movies. Such employees are a very poor reflection on a business and should be weeded out and booted out to allow way for more productive ones!

Common  Traits:
Deceptive
Bright
Lazy
Easy-rider
Indirectly annoying
Unproductive
Reactive
Steal recognition
Great talkers
Feel threatened easily
Self-centred
Often have screen privacy covers
More common than you think

4. Mr/Miss Picket Line - This is a traditional trade unionist who will only do things he/she believes in otherwise will quite happily down tools at any given opportunity. They are mainly public sector workers but can also occur in the private sector. Usually takers not givers and do as little as possible while always demanding extra. Often the first to leave the office and demand overtime or other added pay at any given opportunity.

Common Traits:
Stubborn
Old school
Loud
Rude
Time keeper
Know their rights
Believe everyone owes them something
Disrespectful
Negative
Gossipers
Not team players


5. Mr/Miss "Who Hired Them?" - Poor performer who tries hard but does not have aptitude to excel. With all the best intentions these people do not have the ability to perform their allocated role in-line with expectations. They are usually still employed because the person who hired then did not make good use of their probation period. I'm sure we all know a person in this category and questions are undoubtedly asked about the hiring manager! It is unlikely this person will ever leave the role unless dismissed..

Common  Traits:
Generally misinformed about themselves and the world