Some are just ravenous, awaiting the next piece of meat to be thrown into their enclave. Others are chilled out, unfazed, knowing that every meal is provided for, and that’s all that matters.
Here’s a list of 10 types of co-workers, with their spirit animals, that you’ll be able to find in a typical Malaysian office:
1. The Delegator
Spirit Animal: He thinks he is a Malayan tiger, but is actually a striped stray cat.Also known as the subcon king, the delegator always appears to have things under their control. They are the alpha animal of the office; prowling stealthily to be in the bosses good books by pretending to multitask and take on multiple projects. For them, the office is a vast supermarket of opportunity, which they will grab at first sight - only to entrust that very task to three different people. What they really do is edit slides, and lurk around looking for fresh prey. We could all learn from the delegator; it is always good to delegate tasks to prevent burnout but he, however, takes it to the extremes.
Quotable quote: “I'm so busy, I'm so busy lah” *goes back to scrolling through on 11street on his desktop*
2. The Simpleton
Spirit Animal: The keldai that refuses to budge from the middle of the kampong roadAlways blur, never sure of anything, not even tasks they are assigned to. Almost every workplace has one nincompoop who knows next to nothing about everything. Despite this, we love them as they are usually devoid of any drama and you know you can tell them anything as it will be forgotten the moment you leave their cubicle.
Quotable quote: "I'm not sure lah, I don't know. Ask so-and-so and see?” *goes back to staring into space*
3. The Know-it-All
Spirit Animal: That annoying crow that caws to glory, disrupting your sleep on a Sunday morningThis chap not only claims to know the entire Malaysian constitution, but also the inside story of the current political scandals and every other topic ever discussed in the workplace. He happily throws around names of CEOs that he has "had after work drinks with". Every conversation in the office is incomplete without him butting and giving his two cents worth, as he is the all-knowing, omniscient body. As much as we find him annoying, we secretly enjoy talking to him as he always seems to have that extra bit of information that we can reuse in our future conversations.
Quotable quote: “Oh yeah, I was there at the launching of that event, I went along with the CEO, he picked me up in his Rolls Royce you know”
4. The One Who Doesn’t Give A %&#!
Spirit Animal: The chill panda bear from Zoo NegaraThis person has one motto: 'This is merely a job, and it ends when I leave the office'. They may be good at what they do, but they just couldn’t care less about the workplace, nor their colleagues. Forget trying to reach them after work or on weekends. Count them out of every team building activity, as they seem to have multiple family emergencies on those exact dates. This doesn’t make him/her a bad person, it is just that their priorities are different. After all, don’t we all need some space from each other?
Quotable Quote: “No lah, I can’t make it for the team dinner on Friday, made plans already” *Fakes a sad emoji*
5. The Pantry Consumist
Spirit Animal: The ravenous crocodile from the Kuala Selangor river
Ever wondered why the biscuits in the office pantry never last long? Or why the coffee always runs out? The Pantry Consumist is a miser. Despite being paid a decent salary, this person refuses to spend a sen on breakfast, tea and sometimes lunch. They live off the goodies in the pantry, and devour most of it up within a day or two of its arrival, leaving nothing but crumbs for the rest of us. You can easily spot them gorging when there is an office party or when the boss decides to buy everyone lunch.
Quotable Quote: “Eh why are you wasting money buying nasi lemak for breakfast? Have the biscuits and coffee in the pantry lah!”
6. The Suck-Up
Spirit Animal: That annoying stray dog that loves to follow you around.
The brown-noser a.k.a. apple polisher a.k.a. boot licker is a specimen you could probably find in all offices across the globe. The fact that there are so many terms to describe them just go to show that every office has one of these. They always find a way to weasel themselves into the bosses good books. You'll catch them cackling up at the bosses’ lame jokes, and always volunteering to take up the rubbish tasks put forth by the boss. The sad truth? Butt-kissing sometimes works.
Quotable Quote: “Wow boss! That’s a really great idea! How did you come up with that lah?”
7. The Office Gossip
Spirit Animal: Those noisy bats in the Mulu CavesAlso known as the CNN of the office, the office gossip always seems to have the latest details on meeting spectacles, fellow colleagues’ personal drama as well as process changes in the office. They are always extra nice to newcomers, only to dredge up information on the newbie’s personal and/or professional life. Your best bet would be to handle this person well, always keeping them at arms’ length, and never ever reveal too much about yourself - unless you would like to be on the next day’s headlines.
Quotable Quote: “Eh, you know what I heard ah?”
8. The Tech Guru
Spirit Animal: The adorable squirrel that darts across the road, running from one emergency to another
We all love this person, or at least we pretend to. In case of any technological emergency, they serve as the paramedic who resuscitates your laptop without you having to beg the fellows from the IT department to have a look at it. This person is so good with computers and gadgets, you sometimes wonder why they are stuck doing a job similar to yours. Despite this, they have their feet planted firmly on the ground, and are so easy to please. Of course we adore this person, they keep us connected, and what would we be if we aren’t connected, right?
Quotable Quote: “Hey, I fixed your laptop, all done”
9. That Delicious Hunk/Babe
Spirit Animal: The elegant, majestic stallions outside Istana NegaraOn days when our engines have not really started upon reaching the office, this character gets us revving in so many ways. They are confident, intelligent, and oh-so-good looking. We either envy or look up to those of the same gender as us, and ogle (subtly) at the opposite sex. They take good care of themselves, always look scrumptious, we mean, presentable and have a brain to go along with it. Alas, they are almost always taken. As if that would stop us from using them as motivation to go to work.
Quotable Quote: *None, really. As all they need to do is strut past your cubicle*
10. The Invisible Man/Woman
Spirit Animal: The annoying Aedes mosquito that you see flying around but can never seem to smashThis person is on medical leave so often, you tend to wonder if they have made their own medical certificate booklet that they sign on their own. They seem to have multiple funerals to attend and their kids fall sick on an average of once a week. What they do not realise is that they bring the entire team’s productivity down by simply being absent. Work gets piled onto the rest of us, and that frustrates us to the core. More so when these imbeciles decide to post a picture of #foodporn on Instagram, when they are supposed to be at home recuperating from a fever.
Quotable Quote: “Wei, can cover for me ah? My grandfather on the other side passed away lah, I’m on EL today”
We are pretty sure you have one or two (or gasp, all?) of these characters in your office, but if you want to see some really crazy office characters, we have the thing for you!
The creative minds from Rojak Daily (hey, that's us!), Astro Gempak and Hello! (Astro CH702) have come together to bring you a new web sitcom.
Titled 'How Not To Lose Your Job', the sitcom touches on a topic that a majority of Malaysians are too familiar with these days: struggling to keep their job.
The sitcom follows Miss JJ, an ambitious and hardworking woman who was looking forward to her first day as editor-in-chief at a media company.
However, things take a spin out of control when the boss announces that he's shutting down the company due to bad performance.
That means that Miss JJ and her crew will be out of a job.
Undeterred, Miss JJ must now rally her troop of very unique and definitely very whacky subordinates for their toughest fight yet: keeping their jobs.
Of course, things aren't as simple as it seems when her co-workers are not exactly coorperating with her.
'How Not To Lose Your Job' stars award-winning actress Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Chekem, Taufiq Izmir Tawaff, Dee Al Hadi, Tan Meng Kheng, Sukania Venugopaltan, Charles Roberts and Ellyza Aziz, and is directed by Directors ThinkTank.
The first three episodes are out, and you can catch them below:
EPISODE 1
Miss JJ, an ambitious and strong-willed independent lady boss, prepares to start her first day as an editor-in-chief at a local media company. She announces to her team that there's going to be a company anniversary celebration, and while her team thinks that they'll be getting their bonuses, they weren't prepared for the shock of their lives: they've all been fired - even poor Miss JJ!
EPISODE 2
Determined to show her boss that he's making a big mistake, Miss JJ vows to make him change his mind. While the team is depressed after finding out that they've just lost their jobs, Miss JJ realised that only one person survived the cut: Amu, the cleaner and tea lady. When Miss JJ was trying to force Amu to reveal the reason she was not fired, she had an 'eureeka' moment on how to save her job, but will it work though?
EPISODE 3
Thankfully for Miss JJ and team, the Boss has given them the green light to run a gossip portal, but here's the problem: no one in the team knows anything about celebrity gossip. On top of that, they're faced with the toughest task yet: what to name their brand new website! Meanwhile, influencer-wannabe Lola sneaks out of the office to go on a date with a celebrity.
You can catch new episodes of 'How Not To Lose Your Job' every Monday at 9pm on www.rojakdaily.com/hownotto!
It will also be available on www.gempak.com and Hello (CH702).