Personas in the Profession | Teen Ink

Personas in the Profession

December 11, 2008
By Anonymous

Eventually everyone is fortunate enough to have a job, although the motives behind these acquired occupations vary. Many people have their dream job, although others are at the work site to merely pay their bills. The work site contains an assortment of personalities that are inevitable. Economic classes vary from the head boss to the clean up crew. The happy smiling face of the person who loves being at work more than home greets you as does the grunt from the disgruntled employee who only opens their mouth to complain. A person's work ethic can disguise a person's true character. The stern boss who nobody likes can be the happy-go-lucky dad. There are four personalities that are the most distinct and no work place seems to be without. People at work display the personality that the stress of work can bring, not necessarily who they really are.
NERVOUS NELLY
Nelly is the nail biter that continuously questions everything. She can never do a simple task without asking for validation with each step of the process. Spotting Nelly is never difficult. Her hair is usually pulled back too tight and her outfit never quite matches. She can not move high in the economic standing because she can not even decide what color paper clip to use more or less a decision that could change the whole company. She constantly is hoping to be friends with everyone, yet there is always that linger of annoyance that never quite settles well with others. She is constantly pacing around the office because she has too much pent up energy. Completely finishing a project is something that she can never seem to do by herself. She normally does not last too long at a specific job due to her uncertainty, unless there is another Nelly in the office. If there are two Nellys in the same office, it is the perfect solution to non-stop questions. The two are able to balance each other out and learn to only find validation within each other and finally a feeling of acceptance. The Nelly often seems to be a burden, yet she is merely a woman who never found her true identity and exists as a nervous person seeking validation.
PATTY PERFECTION
Patty is the girl at work who does every task to perfection. She is usually a gorgeous woman who never appears disheveled. she has the best clothes, hair, and nails that money could buy. She does not tend to stay in one position for a long time because her excelled work always allows her to move quickly up the business ladder. Although, as her success in her occupation increases, the more alone she becomes in her social life. Patty is constantly perfecting every minute task she is handed. She also expects perfection from everyone around her, since she sees anything less as unacceptable. She places high criteria for the people she allows to surround her which does not allow many to pass. Most of her co-workers do not want to be around her because she is the main competition around the office. Also, Patty constantly critiques the work of everyone around her, not because she is being pretentious, but because she honestly believes anything less than excellence is not completed. Patty is a woman that is satisfied by her constant achievement and sincerely loves her work, even though most would not see her life as desirable.
REGULAR RHONDA
Rhonda is most seen throughout the workplace. She is the one who is not completely in love with her job but does not hate it either. She does her job well, but is never the leading lady. She has many friends in the work place because she is not the main competition or a miserable person to be around. Se cannot be spotted easily. She wear Express and Guess clothing, but nothing that is going to be found at Saks Fifth Avenue. She gradually progresses through the work ladder of success because she is never one to be complained about, but can also hide under the radar of her bosses. She is one of the few that befriend Patty and Nelly because she does not take her work so seriously as to see others as threats to her job or annoyances. Her social life is great because she allows time for friends and family along with her work life. Rhonda is the average Joe in the workplace, constantly content with her life and the work that she does.
GRUMPY GARY
Gary is the guy at work that never smiles or allows an utterance of laughter. He is the man sitting behind a desk who as a child envisioned a dugout or an operating room as his occupation in the future. Gary allows his own discontentment to be seen through his work and through his appearance. He is easily spotted as the man with the coffee stained shirt and the tie that never quite matches to the rest of his ensemble. He hates the job he has so much that he does not care enough to put time into an appearance that he wishes involved a helmet. Gary only talked about his high school days. Everyone knows that he was the homecoming king and that star of the football team. He is never able to move up in his occupation because he allows his anger to show to everyone. He often lives in a small one-bedroom apartment, or in the basement of his mother's house. His room is adorned with the metals he won in his better days. Anyone who gets in his way is sure to hear an earful of complaints. Gary is the guy in the office that everyone knows but not many like; he lives in the yesterdays of his life and regrets his present occupation.
The world is full of different people with different personalities, and the work place is no exception. Everyone may go through their phases where they portray a little bit of Nelly, Patty, Rhonda, and Gary. Most people envy Patty and her ability to climb the success and economic ladder with ease, but most do not recognize the emptiness within her social life. Most have the life of Patty and want another's life, not recognizing that average is not always the worst place to be. Possibly no one will ever want to be Nelly or Gary by judging by their outward appearance, yet Nelly and Gary see nothing wrong with the life they have been given. Throughout life, everyone experiences the bad and the good work days. One day the boss may scold you, but the next day he may grant you a glorious raise. The work place is just an alternate life where we experience the unpredictable changes of life.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.