Beware of the Poisoners

There are many people who are unhappy in their work. Bored, understretched, undervalued, underpaid. Yet rather than take action to change their situation, they choose to do nothing, to stay in their job, and just whine.

They commit no time to improving their knowledge, skills and breadth of experience.

Although they feel unappreciated and undervalued, they do not seek employment from those that would value them more.

Many come in late and most leave as soon as the clock strikes 5pm. They never fail to remark that it's Friday ('Thank God') or Monday ('Oh God').

Throughout the day they whine loudly about their work load ("I've just got SO much to do. I'm SO busy. I don't know how I'll manage to do everything").

Yet strangely, they never stay late to make progress through their supposedly impossible and mountainous workload. But they'll waste an hour each day gossiping and bitching to whomever will listen.

They bad-mouth decent colleagues behind their backs. And they blame their own failures on their boss and the members of the management team, whom they regularly paint as being clueless, indecisive and self-serving.

Stay away from these people.

They are poisoners.

If you give them a chance, they will sap your willingness to take responsibility for your working life. They'll endanger your motivation. They'll encourage the view that work is pointless and futile, and that you should give up all hope of moving beyond mediocrity, into useful excellent, innovative and rewarding work.

The whiners are not bad people, but their attitudes infect the atmosphere at work, and risk harming all who are exposed to them. Be civil to the work-haters, but recognize the danger that their inaccurate and negative worldviews affecting your attitudes, and through them your actions and outcomes.

Be aware of the risk.

Beware of the poisoners.