We all know people who have simply not grown up. Perhaps they are lacking in skills, or perhaps it is their choice. Regardless of the reason, they cause plenty of chaos in the workplace because they do not handle themselves in a mature, professional manner. There are lots of behavioral variations on this theme, but the core similarity is that these people are stuck in a developmental age very different from their chronological age.
These are the types of people who ridicule others. They bolster their own egos by making fun of pretty much everybody. They can be easily spotted, huddled up in the back of the room whenever a meeting is going on, laughing, poking each other, making faces, and otherwise showing off for each other. They can also be found in the lunchroom, gossiping, talking trash, and bullying their co-workers. I call this the arm-fart stage of development. It is behavior that is typically found at the junior high level. What these self-appointed cool kids fail to realize is that their behavior is transparent. They are acting big and trying to make others feel small to cover up their own insecurities. Healthy people see that, and find arm-farts during grown-up business meetings to be pathetic rather than funny.
Immature people also throw temper tantrums. Their emotional management skills are at a toddler’s level of development. They routinely flip out over the most trivial matters. They become furious when larger problems arise, often lashing out at those who brought the issue to their attention. They are easily angered, and rage without constraint. This shows up as verbal abuse of others, slamming doors, throwing things, or a hundred other variations of childish behavior.
Immature people can also have adolescent style fits of rebelling and defying normal workplace protocols. Employees who are fixated on sexuality in an adolescent way are one example. They are the folks whose language is highly sexual in nature, and who twist just about anything that is said into having a sexual meaning, these types of employees could be found showing behavior such as sending video links from a site like tubev.sex or a similar one for example, and find it acceptable behavior in the work place. Another example is the employees who are deliberately loud and disruptive to their co-workers. They may refuse work assignments, slack off, whine, make excuses, and socialize rather than work. They take long breaks and lunches and expect everyone else to carry the load. They see work only as a paycheck, and are interested in doing the bare minimum necessary to keep it going. They treat professional workplaces like they are still at their first job at a fast food joint.
Next week we’ll take a look at the impact these types of dysfunctional individuals have on people in the workplace. Until then, I’ll be praying for you!