Every organisation has employees with interesting traits. There are the hardworking ones who always clock in on time. Then there are the slackers who need some 'encouragement' to finish their work. Finally, there are suspicious ones who encourage fellow coworkers to create problems.
Sometimes it is wise to pay attention to your coworkers; so you can identify the problematic ones that might affect your work or even career. Here are the three types of untrustworthy coworkers:
1. The ones that whisper.
Almost every organisation has employees that love to gossip. Gossiping is normal; most employees gossip about topics unrelated to work such as celebrities and entertainment. But if a coworker likes to gossip about what's happening in your company, that's trouble.
Workplace gossip can be divisive and damaging. All it takes is one employee to share a juicy gossip that will lead to many employees leaving their work behind to get updates. What's worse is that a rumour about a specific employee can damage their reputation and affect them psychologically.
Nowadays, most workplace gossips don't take place in the physical world but through social media such as WhatsApp.
Gossiping is fine as long as it doesn't involve the organisation.
2. The ones that are obsessed.
It's alright for employees to spend their time to chat online or browsing memes as long as they're not doing it during work hours.
Based on a Huffington Post article, social media can influence your creativity, but those who use their work time to browse celebrities on Instagram or chat on WhatsApp are not on the same productivity level as other employees.
If your organisation allows for mini-breaks, it's okay for employees to use the time for a little bit of social media entertainment. But when it affects your organisation's goals, the boss will step in and take disciplinary action.
Some companies lend their phones to their employees for work purposes. It is crucial for employees not to misuse company devices. If these phones are used for purposes unrelated to work, the employer has every right to monitor them (with the employee's consent, of course).
3. The ones that snitch.
Every company has its unique selling point. It is the only aspect that makes them stand out from their competitors, which is why companies need to keep their unique selling points secure and confidential.
An employee could betray its employer's trust by leaking company information to its competitors, who will use the information to beat your company. There are two ways an employee can leak secrets:
An employee could leak trade secrets purposefully because they have a grudge against the company.
An employee could accidentally leak trade secrets. For example, an employee sends a sensitive email to the wrong person.
Organisational leaks have cause big corporations a lot of damage in the past. As an employee, you need to watch out for coworkers who might steal your work and leak to competitors or worse, pass it off as their own.
