The 7 toxic profiles at work identified by a Harvard researcher, and how to limit their impact

The 7 toxic profiles at work identified by a Harvard researcher, and how to limit their impact
Open space, meeting or coffee break … Some people transform every moment into Calvary. A Harvard researcher identified 7 toxic profiles who exhaust their colleagues and undermine the atmosphere.

They look up to the sky when you talk, cut the floor in a meeting or transform the smallest detail into a drama. These colleagues, everyone knows them, but we rarely have the words to describe them. This is what Amy Gallo, a researcher affiliated to Harvard and the author of the book, undertook Getting Along. In collaboration with the Harvard Business Reviewshe ranked the 7 most toxic profiles at work. Their common point: they exhaust their colleagues while leading the team dynamics. And behind their behavior, well identified psychological patterns hide.

The 7 toxic personalities according to Amy Gallo

Each profile is recognized by clear signals. Amy Gallo stresses that “The stress linked to interactions with difficult people slows down our creativity and our productivity, harms our ability to think clearly and make informed decisions, and pushes us to disengage ourselves“. Worse, she adds,”Too often, we dodge things as if we had no choice“.

Here are the types spotted in his analysis:

  • Narcissistic: Event of admiration, he lowers the others to shine;
  • Paranoid: sees attacks and plots everywhere, generating suspicion and tension;
  • Passive-aggressive: Sobote, by sarcasm or strategic delays;
  • The manipulator (or playwright): refuses to recognize his wrongs and transforms each problem into scene;
  • The control maniac: Obsessed with detail, he imposes his rules and slows down all autonomy;
  • The eternal victim: Said persecuted, rejects the fault and demoralizes the teams;
  • The compulsive obsessive: Extreme perfectionist, he slows down his need for verification.

How to limit their impact without leaving your energy

You do not choose your colleagues, but it is possible to limit the toxic effect of these behaviors. Amy Gallo advises to avoid automatic reactions and seek to understand the engine of these attitudes to better bypass them. Faced with a paranoid, for example, arguing can make things up. Faced with a manipulator, no need to wait for him to recognize his wrongs.

The key lies in a different posture: adapting your way of reacting, refocus your energy on its priorities, and prevent this toxicity from contaminating the whole group. Identifying these profiles does not adjust everything, but this is a first step to keep your hand on your professional daily life.