# Anyone work with someone completely devoid of personality or likable characteristics? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995 "2007-04-13T18:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/21 "2007-04-13T20:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ultraviolet] My mother once worked with a forty-ish woman who lived with both her mother and sister. You never saw her without her mother. In fact, her mother would come to work with her, and sit in the car all day waiting until her daughter was done work, then they would go home together. Mind you, she did have epilepsy and had had a seizure once while driving, so some of her fears were rooted in reality. [/QUOTE] Hopefully she only worked part time hours? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/22 "2007-04-13T20:59:12Z")
In our case, it was a guy who had nothing good to say about anyone. Everyone was an idiot, only he knew the right way to do something, and nobody ever did it his way. He was very smart, he designed an integral system that was used 24/7 for 15 years. But he was such an abrasive person, you didn’t want to get to know him. He talked about everyone behind their backs. He complained about the most incredibly benign things. He was sexist and racist and obnoxious. Nobody could stand to be around him; if they could avoid it, they would. Now, we’re not walking on eggshells anymore. Somebody else in his new workplace is. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/23 "2007-04-13T21:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Dit-fucking-to. I’m rarely accused of not smiling, but when it happens, I’d like to haul off and…BAM! [/QUOTE] I know. Wouldn’t it look goofy if everyone sat there with a small plastered on their face? I have an exercise tape where everone has huge smiles on their face and it creeps me out so much I turn it off. Also because I’m lazy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/24 "2007-04-13T21:14:13Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] I am realizing I work with a woman who is a Quaker - no problems there [/QUOTE] Wasn’t Richard Nixon a Quaker? _He_ certainly wasn’t devoid of personality. My brother worked briefly for a prominent defense contractor once (which shall remain nameless, because I know they’re watching me), and there was an employee in his office whom he never once saw. Every morning, there would be a half-eaten donut and a half-full cup of coffee (and every day a different kind of doughnut) at this “employee’s” desk, but the guy himself was never seen–all day long. I think being a phantom like that takes the cake concerning OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/25 "2007-04-13T21:33:49Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] \*\*Epimetheus \*\* I think your seriously reading way more into the question than what was asked. [/QUOTE] I was more responding to VCO3 more than anything. > [@VC03](#): > > He seemed to have no hobbies or outside interests and no friends or social life. He was the only one of his siblings that wasn’t a lawyer, and “wasn’t close” to his family. I seriously wondered what the guy went home to and what he did in his free time. But yeah, mostly it just made me depressed. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/26 "2007-04-13T21:49:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Dit-fucking-to. I’m rarely accused of not smiling, but when it happens, I’d like to haul off and…BAM! [/QUOTE] You wouldn’t BAM! me upside the face would’ja? And jeez, it’s not like I’m saying to the woman…_okeee big smiley for the jokey pokee…_ or some other such nonsense. I am so not like that. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/27 "2007-04-13T21:53:12Z")
There’s an ass from the local quilt store who does the radio ad and ends with the non sequitor “Smile, it won’t hurt you–the skin stretches.” Almost makes me want to boycott the store but it’s the only local one. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/28 "2007-04-13T21:55:12Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] And jeez, it’s not like I’m saying to the woman…_okeee big smiley for the jokey pokee…_ or some other such nonsense. I am so not like that. [/QUOTE] How about one of my favorites **SMILE, IT’S NOT THAT BAD!!!** Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/29 "2007-04-13T21:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] How about one of my favorites **SMILE, IT’S NOT THAT BAD!!!** Grrrr. [/QUOTE] Yep if someone said that to me, depending on the context, I’d want to haul off on them as well. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/30 "2007-04-13T22:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] I once worked with a 42 year old woman who was the only child of a single mother. She had gotten her job immediately out of high school and had spent the next 25 years working and living at home with mommy. Her mother would call her at least twice a day to make sure she was doing okay. The woman never did anything. I’m serious. She was so mother dominated. She wouldn’t go out for lunch (always brought it, packed by you-know-who). Wouldn’t go out after work or on weekends. All she did was stay at home with her mother, who did all the shopping and made all the daughter’s clothes! I wonder whatever happened to her. [/QUOTE] I don’t know, but if you tell us who she is I’ll make sure never to stay in a motel owned by her. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/31 "2007-04-13T22:17:36Z")
Fishbike, if you were not in Florida, i"d swear you were talking about my unfavorite over-40 w/m supervisor type (not mine) with whom I used to work, during which period, he: Stated that “Martin Luther King Road should have been named after James Earl Ray”, Stated that he “Want[s] to kill all queers” and openly refers to people by that term if he even suspects them to be so, “outing” them to others based only on suspicion, referred to his black male employees as “boys”, carried gay male kiddy? porn in his wallet and showed it to coworkers/employees, lied routinely to coworkers about work matters, worked out and used steroids, is unmarried, dated his offsite supervisor’s female assistant and dumped her to date another female who was in a higher echelon of the organization, had diarrhea of the mouth, was (reportedly) the reason that several female clerical types left-harassment/ language, is semiliterate (couldn’t compose a coherent English sentence), lives with his mother, was “in” with his boss for many years, so got away with it, is no longer there, making everyone that is still there very happy. BTW, one of his former b/m ee’s now has his job. Top that! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/32 "2007-04-13T22:19:44Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] I once worked with a 42 year old woman who was the only child of a single mother. She had gotten her job immediately out of high school and had spent the next 25 years working and living at home with mommy. Her mother would call her at least twice a day to make sure she was doing okay. The woman never did anything. I’m serious. She was so mother dominated. She wouldn’t go out for lunch (always brought it, packed by you-know-who). Wouldn’t go out after work or on weekends. All she did was stay at home with her mother, who did all the shopping and made all the daughter’s clothes! [/QUOTE] One of my dreams is to live with my mom and have her do the cooking for me while I go earn a living. Of course I’ve arrived at that dream after years of being on my own so I guess that’s different. And I would buy my own clothes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/33 "2007-04-13T23:25:22Z")
I used to. This woman was totally humourless. No sense of humour - not just an odd sense of humour - NO sense of humour. The only time she would crack a smile is if she wanted something. She worked in my department for 10 years and wasn’t social with anyone, and did almost no work. Occassionally she would fall asleep at her desk. When she left I had to sort out her office, and I was dreading it, assuming it would be a mess because she had worked there so long - I was wrong. She didn’t have a single file. Not a note. Nothing on her computer. I asked her boss and he said that he never gave her anything to do because she was so vitrolic if he tried. She is truly an odious human being - totally devoid of any sort of personality. The only person she ever spoke about spending any time with was her daughter. The scary part is she left the job to be a social worker. Just what a person in crisis needs - a friggin’ android to tell their problems to. And not even a personable android like Data. You might as well talk to a wall divider for the amount of connection that woman could form with someone. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/34 "2007-04-13T23:44:05Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] You wouldn’t BAM! me upside the face would’ja? [/QUOTE] Nah…You and me are like this (crosses fingers) but I also don’t feel the need to smile all the time. I generally do, but if I’m not, I don’t want to feel guilty about it. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/35 "2007-04-14T00:19:21Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] There’s an ass from the local quilt store who does the radio ad and ends with the non sequitor “Smile, it won’t hurt you–the skin stretches.” Almost makes me want to boycott the store but it’s the only local one. :mad: [/QUOTE] Is it me? I can’t make any sense of this post no matter what I do. ETA: Never mind, I get it now. I don’t get what it has to do with the OP, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/36 "2007-04-14T00:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] I won’t even mention the time that “Tupac” came up. [/QUOTE] Oh no, now we MUST hear that! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/37 "2007-04-14T01:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] In our case, it was a guy who had nothing good to say about anyone. Everyone was an idiot, only he knew the right way to do something, and nobody ever did it his way. He was very smart, he designed an integral system that was used 24/7 for 15 years. But he was such an abrasive person, you didn’t want to get to know him. He talked about everyone behind their backs. He complained about the most incredibly benign things. He was sexist and racist and obnoxious. Nobody could stand to be around him; if they could avoid it, they would. [/QUOTE] So that’s where the co-worker I’ll call P ended up! I always wondered. P had few likeable characteristics. Any time you asked him for anything, he was far, _far_ too busy to deal with it, and whatever he was dealing with was far more important than what you wanted. “Go away, Spoons, I’m far too busy to deal with that insignficant project. Hmph!” He was excellent at complaining though, and claimed his phone never worked, his e-mail never worked, and his computer barely worked. Here was the corollary of P’s being too busy–his phone didn’t work _and his work was so important_ that he needed my phone _right now_! So he could call his wife and tell her he’d pick up the kids. Many, many times… :rolleyes: Of course, I was always amazed that somebody so unlikeable could actually attract a woman and get her to agree to marry him. I often wondered if it was an arranged marriage, but he didn’t come from a culture where arranged marriages were the norm, so it must have been something else. A bribe maybe? After six months, he had finally managed to produce something that had nothing to do with the job he’d been hired to do, but he gave it a shot because “the company will love this.” He produced nothing else except headaches, stress, and complaints from others. Management woke up to the fact that this guy was a millstone, so they got rid of him. He bitched, moaned, and complained all the way out the door, but we all headed down to the local watering hole that day for a celebration. Management joined us, picked up the tab, and apologized for hiring him. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/38 "2007-04-14T05:31:59Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Oh no, now we MUST hear that! [/QUOTE] He thought it was a misspelling of “two packs,” as in “I’d like tupac of wrigley’s spearmint gum, please.” Even though the context would have made it something to the effect of, “Two Packs has gone down in history as yet another victim of feud-fueled violence.” ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/39 "2007-04-14T07:30:15Z")
She’s got a secret life so scandalous and depraved it would make your toenails curl. But seriously. Look up anhedonia. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995/40 "2007-04-14T08:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] \*\*Epimetheus \*\* I think your seriously reading way more into the question than what was asked. [/QUOTE] No, I think he makes a good point. I really don’t trust my co-workers all that much. I’m cordial with them, but I just don’t get into personal stuff much or at all there for exactly this reason. I went to a party where many of my co-workers were hanging out once, and found it pretty boring. They’re just not my kind of people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-with-someone-completely-devoid-of-personality-or-likable-characteristics/399995.md?page=3)