5 Common Types of Coworkers and How To Deal With Them

Running your business from a coworking space can come with tremendous benefits - the cost savings, the networking opportunities, and the amazing facilities .

But that's not all - you also get to meet people from different backgrounds, with different expertise and behaviors. Below are the 5 common types of coworkers and how you can best deal with them:

The Talker: There are three kinds of talker common in a coworking space. The first kind of talker is the one who walks up to you for a quick question and ends up chatting for hours. The second type of talker is always bragging about accomplishments or talking about their projects. The last set of people in this group are the ones always asking for help. They need help even for tasks that can be accomplished with a simple Google search. Asking for help isn't a bad thing, but realizing that others are there to get things done is very important. If you come across these types of coworkers, the best thing to do is to set boundaries early on.

The Expert: In any office, there is always that person who is the ‘go-to-guy’ when it comes to a particular field. It could be in web design, marketing, product development, or business strategy. The same thing is obtainable in a coworking space. In fact, a coworking space can be an assembly of bright minds from many different walks of life. As a result, answers to burning questions may be close at hand. However, it is also common to see people bug the perceived ‘bright stars’ with too many questions. So much so, that they struggle to get tasks accomplished. If you find yourself in this situation, set clear boundaries, state clearly when people can approach you with questions, or even discuss with the management to enforce a community rule prohibiting coworkers from asking questions at certain hours of the day. This will help you get more work done as well as prevent the coworking center from losing valuable members.

The Remote Worker: These days it is common for companies to hire people who work from remote locations. Many of these employees will use coworking spaces to provide them with the technology and convenience required to get their jobs done. At coworking spaces, it is common to see those who work 9 to 6, 5 days a week. If you are new to coworking, these may well be the remote workers of your community. If you come across this kind of coworkers, respect their time and try not to harass them with questions during work hours.

The Night Owl: These type of coworkers come to the office when others have gone home and disappear before you arrive in the morning. Startup founders and part-time workers typically make up this group. Sometimes, remote workers coordinating with a different time zone may also fall into this category. Practically, they are not part of the community and rarely attend meetups and networking events. To create an inclusive network, The Executive Centre maintains an online community that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time.

The Live-in Coworkers: Some people practically live in a coworking space, really taking advantage of the 24/7 access. While this may be a good way to get the job done, do not abuse the feature by practically living in the space. It’s also important to take a break from work, to allow yourself to refresh and recharge. If you come across this type of coworker, a friendly reminder about the benefits of a work/life balance might be appropriate.

Apart from these 5 common types of coworkers, we also have those you might term the visitors, the loud ones, the cool guys and the list goes on.

The most important thing is to understand the behavior of those sharing space with you. This will allow you to devise a means of getting your job done while ensuring that your activities and behavior are not detrimental to others.

Conversely, it will also ensure that you make the most of the opportunities that come with belonging to a shared workspace like The Executive Centre.