In the workplace, the vast majority of people are likely to go about their business without getting in the way of their colleagues, at least without intent. However, as a recent survey found, there’s always someone – the workplace ‘can’t’ – who seems to get in the way for any number of reasons. Motivations for acting like they do may be career-based or because of personality flaws.
The survey discovered that close to 18% of people said that the workplace can’t was in the HR department, being the most likely to act in an obstructive manner. Coming a distant second were accounts/finance workers, who like HR tend not to face clients too much, spending the majority of their time stuck in the office, watching the world go by.
Inhuman Resources
As a whole, the HR department of a company is often the main point of contact between the business and the outside world. Anyone in the department acting surly or obstructive is sure to receive the ire of their colleagues. People in HR who act as the workplace ‘can’t’ are also more likely to turn down reasonable requests from co-workers.
When it came to the personality traits exhibited by obstructive workers, some of those mentioned by respondents to the survey were striking. 65% said they were argumentative, while 59% mentioned confidence. 47% said that the typical workplace can’t, irrespective of occupation, is deceitful, possibly hinting at plotting against colleagues who may have wronged them.
Tell-tale signs
There are a few ways in which the workplace ‘can’t’ can be identified. Many respondents said that, among other things, they were likely to wear tattoos, have a permanently red face, moustache and tend to wear horn rim glasses. While it’s hard to find someone that has all that, if you see two or more of the same thing on one colleague, you might have reason to feel alarmed!
Working with people who ‘can’t’ might not be for everyone, but they can be more problematic in areas such as HR. The reason for that is HR departments oversee everything from payment to time management, with any errors made by people potentially being catastrophic. If there’s a can’t in that department, then carnage could ensue.