Just as you can choose your friends but not your family, you can (sometimes) choose your job, but not the people you work with.

In any job, you find people you get along very well with, as well as people who will never become your friends – on the contrary. They are the so-called “difficult” people and communication and relationships with them is neither pleasant nor easy.

These people change very quickly from a good mood to feeling irritable and you do not know how they might react the next moment. You often fear even asking them how they feel, and when it comes to them doing you a favor… forget about it!

You find these kinds of people in every workplace. But it’s up to you to decide how difficult a person is to deal with based on some factors such as you self-confidence, your self-esteem and your professional courage.

Remember, you’ve got something to learn from all these people. You can learn what to do and how to behave at work or within a team. And the most important thing, you learn how not to become a “difficult coworker.”

15. The Soldier/Robot

“Will my superior agree?” “Is this in accordance with the procedure? With the specifications?” Rain or shine, this colleague obeys orders without making any comment.

According to them, nothing should go beyond the framework set by the higher authorities. Certainly, they put their heart into their work and you can count on them to give you a helping hand or to replace you at the last minute during a meeting.

Here is the hitch: they are short of ideas. And they also undermine any creativity, creating a climate of permanent constraints in the team. In addition, they stall as soon as things get a little bit complicated.

14. The Veteran

Being among the oldest and the most experienced people within the company or at work, in general, these veterans also feel they should have some advantages too, and much more respect from their younger and less experienced coworkers.

In general, they trust neither their new colleagues nor Facebook or Twitter techniques. Try to integrate them effectively into your team. Even if they seem to prefer the routine to the detriment of the new things, show them that you keep many of the directions suggested by them.

Respect them because, in the end, there must be a reason for their seniority at work. Therefore, they must also have certain special qualities.

13. The Newcomer

He has joined the company a few days ago, but he is already planning to change the world – the company, in this case. All the teasing about his ideas get you dizzy and it also annoys you. His initiative and live spirit also overwhelms you.

Try to write an encouraging but realistic email for this kind of person. Tell them that you appreciate their enthusiasm, but advise them to focus mainly on their direct tasks, without trying to revolutionize the world. It would be enough if they could innovate something at work. At least at the very beginning!

12. The Upstart

Such a colleague is endowed with a rare combination of skills, thanks to which they advance and get promotions faster than you. Their ability is often interwoven with arrogance, and as they see themselves as a future leaders, they don’t know their place.

They use the motto, “All’s fair in love, in war and at work!” as an excuse for their immeasurable ambition. Try, as much as possible, not to stay in their way. Make sure they are aware of your professional value! They may represent a useful contact for the future, but never forget that they can never become your real friend as their professional strengths are accompanied by a questionable character.

11. The Drama Queen (Or King)

It is assumed to be a girlie thing. Well, it’s not! Males and females alike thrive on attention as they have learned to feel invisible and less important than others around them. They are merely trying to persuade you, thus trying to convince themselves, that they matter. As if you didn’t know!

I’m sure you know this type: the person who has much more work to do than any other person in the office, whose flu symptoms are the worst during the cold season, and whose clients and even superiors are the most annoying.

They are always unhappy and don’t understand why you cannot feel as they do. Simply because you’re different, that’s all!

Without entering into any misunderstanding or argumentation with them, keep positive and optimistic around them and it might have a positive effect on them.

10. The Slacker

This type of colleague is probably the funniest of all the people you share the office with; this is why they can easily mislead you.

They are the ones who always insist on going for another cigarette or a glass of water or for taking longer breaks.

The problem is, however, that all these bad habits can be copied. You can easily fall into their trap. Enjoy their presence, but try not to copy these employees who arrive last and leave first. Therefore, don’t let yourself dragged down! You can do much more better than that!

9. The Snitch

A lot of superiors or bosses like to have eyes and ears everywhere, and the snitch takes advantage of this to offset their lack of competence or laziness.

Be as vigilant as possible not only when you talk to them, but also when you talk to others because you can never know if they are hidden under a table or in a shaded corner. If you think that your words cannot be turned against you, you’re wrong!

Don’t forget that the snitch has a very rich imagination and vocabulary and these kinds of people have the skills to distort your words and to present you to the boss as a very dangerous conspirator!

8. The Good Actor

Gifted with an incredibly fine instinct, with the talent to detect when they’re being observed or checked by a superior, they can easily simulate that they work much more than any other colleague of theirs.

If they work in an office, you can find them surrounded by piles of papers and files, and if they perform a manual job, they are dirty from head to toe from the first hour of the work day.

Or, in other words, they are the persons who are always busy, but when put to their paces, they cannot really justify their time spent at work. It is extremely frustrating to have people like them around, but their fate is sealed! Sooner or later, they will show themselves in their true colors!

7. The Ass Kisser

There are few things less disgusting than seeing a colleague plaster the superiors with praise, especially those who really love it! Sometimes it is possible for such bosses to be too excited about the ass kisser’s flattering to objectively appreciate your merits, especially if you keep a sober attitude, which they can see as a callous indifference towards their leadership qualities. This case is quite rare tough…

Almost everyone likes to be complimented, but the ass kisser takes this to a whole other level. Mind your own business with seriousness and ignore those who put themselves in humiliating situations just for the pleasure of having a better position they could never have gotten otherwise.

6. The Gossiper

If you work in a corporate environment, I’m sure you know that you feel rumors never stop at work. There is always something new that has just happened and needs to be spread all over: a new person was hired, somebody has quit, another person got fired, and so on.

Although it is said that only women are inclined to deal with it, gossip at work is often produced by men. Even if you lower yourself as much as to like the nasty things said about a certain colleague, remember that, in your absence, you are almost certainly prone to becoming the main protagonist of the gossiper’s soap operas.

Therefore, don’t simply reject the gossiper, but don’t give him/her reasons to talk about you, and most importantly, never confess your deepest desires!

5. Mr. or Mrs. “Know It All”

They know better than anyone else the domain, the techniques and the use of everything around them. They have seen everything, heard everything and experienced it all.

If you feel proud of yourself and get a lot of appreciation from your other colleagues, be sure to hear something like “I can do better. In fact I have done better than you many times.”

Mastering the technique, they pride themselves on teaching you exactly how you must work – which is not bad, as you might need some help from time to time – but they do it without any diplomacy. “That’s not how we do it. Watch and learn!” It’s so humiliating, especially for the newcomers or for the very sensitive and involved person who knows they do their work very well.

4. The Nonconformist

This person is nice because he/she helps you fight the monotony at work and breaks all the rules, but he/she may have an ominous influence on you. They’ve got no problem in coming to work a little tipsy and replying quite rudely to their superiors, whenever they “dare” to make any comments.

Don’t reject their friendship, but keep some distance from them, since you cannot share the same style. Could you break your company’s code dress and wear a T-shirt every Friday, despite knowing that it’s prohibited?

If your answer is positive, you should think about the influence this kind of person has on you. You’ve changed, and not always in a good way; you’re trying to copy your colleague just because you think that the others around admire and respect this kind of person. How long can you keep it up?

3. The Loser

He/she is the black sheep at work, the colleague who can never help shooting himself / herself in the foot and is on top of the possible layoffs list.

You have half a mind to give them a helping hand, but you cannot neglect your own work only to always be by their side and correct their stupid mistakes. Unfortunately, you need to be somewhat cynical, and put your own interests first, as they don’t really have a goal or any ambition at all. All they focus on is their next self-destructive adventure.

They greatest disadvantage is that you can never live up to your full potential unless you turn a deaf ear to all the unnecessary drama and complications.

2. The Over-Dedicated

Although apparently there is nothing wrong for someone to put salt on your tail and to arise your competitive spirit, it is damn hard to work with a person who is always ready to go to the bitter end only for the “joy” of proving that you’re not as capable as he/she is. They have their heart putting you in a bad light although they are not as efficient as they would like you to believe.

If you want to protect against their damaging trends, do your best not to handle the same tasks as them, not to share any work with them and try to convince your boss to consider concrete results rather than hours and efforts consumed for a given project.

1. The Chatterbox

This person simply does not realize that when you ask a question out of politeness, something like “how are you?” you are not willing to listen to his/her detailed biography and personal problems. They are wasting your time and test you patience with endless verbosity about things you do not give a damn about. They also frequently hit you below the belt with their negative thinking and self-pity taken to the extreme.

Whenever this person tries to enter a conversation with you, create the impression that you’re swamped with work!

Otherwise, you’ll have headaches all day long and you’ll leave work full of “useless information” about a person who might not be your coworker for long!