the recent move of my office taught me a number of things about people. their organizational skills, their stress tolerance level, their ability for spacial thinking, their physical strength along with their sense of humor.

i went from sharing two rooms with a total of four people to sharing three rooms with five people. i now have a new “office mate”, two new colleagues and (this is my favorite…i’m german after all) a cabinet with a bunch of office supplies. i now have access to an abundance of post-its, envelops, tape (i need a tape dispenser though but that is just a minor detail), pens and pencils…and this is all organized! it’s heaven.

all of this packing, moving and unpacking brought about six archetypes of colleagues

the stressed out one

this archetype is defined by the word stress. everything and everyone means stress. the mere thought of moving is already stressing out this speci(wo)man in extreme levels. needless to say that for anyone who is trying to be of help this is a very difficult situation. it’s like walking on eggshells except that even they have already cracked. yes, you may help in packing or unpacking but if you ask questions, it’s too much. if you don’t ask and subsequently put something in the wrong place hell breaks lose. so to sum it up, with this archetype you cannot win. don’t expect rational thinking or conversations. think a tantrum of a five-year-old when this speci(wo)man gets started.

the rational thinking one

there’s always got to be one who seems to be above things. the one with the objective view, the foresight, the out-of-the-box thinking, the calm one, the one who breaks up your hissy fit with a simple question that makes you feel really stupid. do we need rational thinkers? absolutely! do we appreciate them being around? well, i’m not so sure about this one. sometimes when all you want to so is whine and complain about the paper cut you got the rationale of this archetype can really be too much.

the chaotic one

planning of any kind is not the forte of this archetype. not that they would mind the lack of organization. boxes are not labeled, the content of said boxes are a mix of everything thrown together. knowing where to put the furniture? totally overrated. this archetype waits for the problems to arise and then solves them in the order of appearance. if too many problems line up this archetype falls into the patterns of the stressed out one.

the organized one

this one is the direct opposite of the chaotic one. everything is packed according to lists, everything is labeled, there are lists and plans for whatever you can imagine. obviously these lists are not kept to oneself but passed amongst colleagues so that all of them know the deal (and feel bad about not being as organized). the organized one would never miss an event such as an office move because this is the one opportunity where they can thrive and show off their skills. being the chaotic one with only organized colleagues? torture!

the i’m not in charge and will take no responsibility one

this archetype does not take charge when it is needed and does not volunteer for work to be done. however, when told to do something they do it because if it goes wrong they can blame that someone. personally, i don’t think this archetype is so bad, after all they do the work they are supposed to do. but they require supervision and that can be strenuous, especially during a move when your attention is split among so many things going on simultaneously.

the this-will-fit (but it never will) one

aaaah, the great thinkers of this world. they have an idea of how to place the furniture in the new rooms and they get all excited about it. the fact that it doesn’t quite fit? oh well, minor detail. measurements are for sissies, this archetype thinks big. i guess it’s great to have these thinkers around because they have ideas most people will never have and this creativity is the spice of life. problems start when things don’t fit and readjustment is needed. creativity cannot be squeezed into boundaries such as walls and room height. anyone else hearing the stressed out one coming out of the closet?

all of these archetypes came together when we moved. i am not dishing on what type i think i am, and i’m not stopping you from guessing. let’s just say that i STILL am highly excited about the office supply cabinet and i love going to staples

franzi