'Office ghouls' don't strike only on Halloween

Survey shows managers have their hands full resolving staff personality conflicts

Ghosts and goblins who traditionally make their appearance on October 31 may have office counterparts whose behaviours bedevil their managers throughout the year. Executives in Canada and the United States polled in recent surveys said that almost one fifth of managers' time – or more than seven hours each week – is spent sorting out personality conflicts among staff members.

The polls, conducted on behalf of temporary staffing service Accountemps, include responses from 100 Canadian and 150 U.S. senior executives – including those from human resources, finance and marketing departments. They were asked, "What percentage of management time is wasted resolving staff personality conflicts?" The mean response in Canada was 20 per cent, followed closely by 18 per cent in the United States.

While some personality conflicts are serious in nature, even small disagreements can cause friction. Managers can reduce office disharmony by being aware of employees with habits that disrupt productivity and nipping problems in the bud.

Here are some common year-round workplace goblins and tips from Accountemps on managing them:

The laughing hyena

This personality type finds everything funny – especially their own jokes. They are not aware that their voice carries and can be heard many cubicles away. Encourage employees to try to keep their voices down during conversations and find a conference room for meetings where speakerphones are used.

The ghost employee

There's nothing quite as frustrating as a staff member you can never find. Whether out on official business or not, some people seem perpetually away from the office and turn up only rarely for meetings and group events. These ghostlike characters may not realize they have this reputation – and are certainly not prone to correcting it – unless managers regularly remind the entire staff of the importance of being accessible.

The witch's brewer

It's hard for people to concentrate on their work when they're overcome by the smell of someone's microwave popcorn or reheated dinner. You don't need to single out offenders, but mention in team meetings that it's inconsiderate for staff to eat especially ungent foods at their desks.

The office spook

This type relishes scaring co-workers – especially new ones – about the hardships of working at the company. "If you think we've had it tough so far, just wait 'til the spring season," he may be heard to say. Painting the boss as a fire-breathing ogre and spreading other tales of woe are this person's specialty. The office spook may be someone you have to approach individually to turn around his pessimism.

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