Caterpillar Inc Heavy Equipment CSR by GineersNow Engineering GineersNow Engineering Magazine November 2016 | Page 47

THE SIX
ENGINEERS
THAT WE
ALL HAVE TO
DEAL WITH
Photo by SheKnows
by Randy Williams
Working at an engineering
firm is like living in a tiny
microcosm of society filled
with unique and unusual
characters.
No
matter
where you work, we’ve all
experienced these folks. Some
weird, some funny, some
goofy, some brilliant, some
annoying, some adventurous,
some opinionated, and the
list goes on. Here are some of
the most common caricatures
that you’ll find at the office.
1. The young, overachieving,
go getter. We’ll call this person
Arnold. This guy is new to the
working world having recently
graduated from college or a
graduate program. He takes
his work VERY seriously. His
hobbies include studying,
asking questions, and working
unpaid overtime. Regardless
of how much his boss puts
on his plate, he asks for
more. This person is always
on the phone, always gets
flustered when you interrupt
his critically important train
of thought, and never misses
an opportunity to suck up to
management.
2. The overpaid, lazy, one foot
out the door retiree. This lady’s
name is Cathy. You know this
person very well because
you’re always having to do
her work. She overpromises
and underperforms. But what
does she care. She’s about
to retire and play with her
grand kids all day. She’s only
hanging around the office
to collect that sweet life
insurance and those delicious
health benefits. Only one
more year until she reaches
full pension and then SHE’S
GONE. No one is quite sure
why the supervisors don’t
demand more from Cathy.
She no doubt collects one of
the largest paychecks, but the
value she adds just isn’t there.
Who can blame her? She’s
been working at the company
for over 30 years. She’s put in
her time. She knows exactly
what she needs to get done
and doesn’t do a lick more.
3. The oversocial, oversharing,
chatty Cathy is actually not
named Cathy. This person’s
name is Gary. Have you
ever been crushing your
work, getting things done,
feeling motivated and full of
energy from that Starbucks
you treated yourself with,
then everything comes to
a screeching halt. In comes
Gary. Well at least you got a
lot done this morning because
now you find yourself in a
never ending conversation
with the guy that doesn’t
know when to stop. No matter
how many ways you try to
exit the conversation, this guy
just won’t take a hint. How
can he continue to weather
through the storm of your one
word responses? Wait, what’s
he doing now? Oh no, he’s
busting out family pictures of
their most recent trip to the
Colorado Railroad Museum…
Let’s see if I can text someone
and have them call me so I
can escape the torture that is
this conversation.
4. Harold is the office weirdo.
No one is quite sure what’s
going through his mind. He’s
creepily quiet and never
speaks up unless directly
spoken to. It’s painful to go to
his office because you know
there will be at least three
and a half awkward silences
every time. His empty stare
is haunting and often causes
you to avert your gaze and
look at the ground. Everyone
wonders what this guy does
in the evenings or on the
weekends. Is he sitting quietly
reading on the couch, playing
dungeons and dragons
with a Meetup group in his
basement, or simply watching
Game of Thrones reruns with
his wife. He is the mystery
man of the office. The only
mystery is that you don’t
want anything to do with him.
5. Then there’s the cool guy.
He knows the office gossip
and knows how to work the
system. This guy’s name is
Nick. Nick is a great coworker.
You get along, work well
together, and you’ve even
hung out a couple of times on
the weekend. One time you
even went on an overnight
camping trip with his wife and
a handful of their friends. It
seems like everyone in the
office likes Nick. How could
you not? He’s friendly, funny,
adventurous, and always
comes into the office on
Monday with entertaining
stories. It’s funny that on one
hand you wish everyone in
the office were as cool and
easy going as Nick, but what
a boring world it would be
if that were th e case. Weird
coworkers are the spice of life.
6. Rounding out the list is
the over enthusiastic parent.
This lady’s name is Barb.
Barb loves her life, but mostly
loves her family. She works
the minimum hours so she
can always pick up her kids
from school, take sick days
whenever it’s needed, and
participates in all of her
children’s activities.
In addition to fondling over
her kids, she also enjoys taking
care of her fellow coworkers.
She’s the office mom. She
sets up the lunch platter
whenever food is brought into
the office. She refills the paper
in the printer. She makes sure
everyone is having a great
day. There’s nothing better
than having a kind and loving
office mom around.
Disclaimer: All characters and
events portrayed here are
entirely fictional. No feelings
were hurt during the creation
or reproduction of this article.
About the author: Randy
Williams: Student of Life.
Professional Engineer. Skeptic.
Explorer. Reader. Listener.
NOVEMBER 2016
Mining Engineering and Its Importance
47