13 destructive workplace behaviors

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jul 1, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

Republish Article

You can republish articles in print or online. Simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline, and credit to Cascade PBS. Republishing of the photos or videos embedded in an article can occur only if the photo or video is a copyright of Cascade Public Media ("CPM") and not of a third party. Photos and videos that are a copyright of CPM are not required to appear in the republished article, but if they are used, they must be embedded where they appear in the original article and must include the attribution to the CPM photographer.

You may reprint in any medium
You may edit only for tense and timeliness
If republishing in print you can edit for length if you follow our print republishing guidelines.
You may write your own headline
Include a byline and shirttail with credit and link to Cascade PBS
Include our tracking pixel
Remove if we ask

          <article>
            <header>
              <hgroup>
                <h1>13 destructive workplace behaviors</h1>
                <h2><p>Workplace dynamics are intriguing — if you're a sitcom writer — and irksome if they skew towards the dysfunctional. The good news, insists Puget Sound Business Journal contributor Sylvia Lafair, is that once you're on to troublesome behavior patterns, you can do something to make things better. Besides</p></h2>
              </hgroup>
               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
            </header>
            <p>Workplace dynamics are intriguing — if you're a sitcom writer — and irksome if they skew towards the dysfunctional. The good news, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/how-to/human-resources/2015/04/13-most-common-destructive-workplace-behaviors.html?page=all&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">insists Puget Sound Business Journal contributor Sylvia Lafair</a>, is that once you're on to troublesome behavior patterns, you can do something to make things better. Besides quitting.</p><p>Lafair's 13 most common destructive workplace behaviors include the Super Achiever, the Rebel, the Procrastinator, The Clown, the Persecutor, who "bullies people into misery and the Victim, who's "too scared to take any action." Can you guess the other seven?</p>
          </article>

Workplace dynamics are intriguing — if you're a sitcom writer — and irksome if they skew towards the dysfunctional. The good news, insists Puget Sound Business Journal contributor Sylvia Lafair, is that once you're on to troublesome behavior patterns, you can do something to make things better. Besides quitting.

Lafair's 13 most common destructive workplace behaviors include the Super Achiever, the Rebel, the Procrastinator, The Clown, the Persecutor, who "bullies people into misery and the Victim, who's "too scared to take any action." Can you guess the other seven?

Our members' donations make local journalism happen.

Support once for $1

Support monthly for $7

Cascade PBS Passport
Mossback members-only newsletter
Monthly Viewer Guide

Support monthly for $25

Invitation to quarterly news and original programming video conference
Annual in-person meet-up with news & programming teams
Special event perks (reduced price or free tickets, cocktails, etc.)

Continue

By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,