Whether you are a veteran with over 20 years of experience under
your belt or a fresh-faced newbie straight out of the university, a Nigerian
office can be a war zone for anyone. A complex social environment with a wide
variety of people and personalities, you find you have to work with different
types of people that you may or may not like to achieve a common goal in a
Nigerian office.
Of course, each
working environment can differ greatly according to its industry and company
culture, however, there are certain types of people you’re destined to meet in
every workplace in Nigeria.We reveal seven of
these type of people and how to avoid strangling each one.
The Oppressor
Usually an uptight auth
ority figure in the firm,
The oppressor makes things tense for everyone. They are extremely demanding
and have very unrealistic expectations. No matter how hard you try to impress
them, it seems like you just can’t do enough. While it may seem impossible to change
this person’s attitude, however, you always have the power to control yours.
Try flipping your perspective and seeing things from your supervisor’s point of
view, no matter how hard it seems, and you will find you may be able to better
understand how they work and why they expect the things they do. While this may
not make them less demanding, it can relieve some of the stress and tension
that you feel all the time they are around.
The Veteran
This person has been a working
member of staff in the company since the organization’s formative years, yet he
does not have a statue or mural in honor of his tenure in the company. He does
not trust the new kids on the block and he is not keen about change. Basically,
he thrives on routine and so is stuck in his ways and it’s killing your
workflow efficiency. Again, he never misses a chance to remind you that he’s
been with the company so long.The key to getting the old guy on board is:
figure out ways to incorporate his good ideas while cutting the fat. Showing
him your ideas will make things easier, but don’t forget to acknowledge his
know-how, that way he won’t feel slighted or left out.
The Complainer
The complainer has a comment to
make about everything that goes on in the office. He/she complains before
completing almost every single task probably because they may fall under one or
a few of the following labels: bored, disgruntled, busy, or unhappy with their
work. They are not a lot of fun to be around as they drain the energy in the
office as they seem to be pessimists. Basically, if complaining were
a method that would drive a company’s profits and boost its goodwill among its
stakeholders, then they’d be an asset. You really do not want to associate
yourself with this kind of person.
The Slacker
It is risky to have this person
as a mentor or friend as they are super sly. They like to give the impression
that they are the one doing the job, but in reality, they just pass on the
tasks to others and take all the glory. They give the image of being actual
contributors to the team, but in reality, they do nothing. It is usually a
horrible situation when this person is your boss or team head as you end up
doing both your work and his/her work. Best thing to do is raise your concerns
when you feel you need to, and if they are subordinates, try and mentor them.
Also, giving them clear deadline go a long way.
The by-product of nepotism
This is Nigeria and yes!
Nepotism is a thing. This kind of worker is the one that got the job because
his dad was classmates with the CEO or his mother is in the same church as the
owner. He keeps rising in the company, not because he is so skilled or
talented, but because of his connection and there’s nothing you can really do about
that. It actually pays to be friends with this kind of worker as you never know
from where favor may come.
The Gossip
Don’t be deluded, this person
is not always a girl. The gossip has the ears of a bat and the mouth of a magpie,
and as such, has all the juicy gist in the office. He/she has firsthand information about
the boss’s love life, the financial situation of the company and know who is
getting sacked or getting a raise. Actually, the Office Gossip is a
lot of fun to be around, but you have to be careful what you say to them as you
never know how far he/she can take it. Again, if you become too close to them,
your image may be tarred, and this can be quite undermining. You can,
however, use them if you want to spread any information that may be beneficial
to you in the end.
The
Kiss-ass
This person is an overachiever and they are always sucking up
to those above. Their main aim is to ensure they are in the good books of
the relevant authority. They will laugh at the boss’ jokes even when they are
not exactly funny and will go out of their way to do things that are not in
their job description. Basically, they try to make every other person look bad
so they come off as the shining star. This kind of worker is irritating and
cannot be trusted as they can easily backstab colleagues.__
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