Signs of a Backstabbing Coworker
Have you ever had that one coworker that you just know is up to fishy business? You are suspicious of their daily actions, but are not quite sure? Or, are you seemingly unaware of possible backstabbing coworkers? Either way, people do things for many different motivations. At work, these motivations might even lead to the, being deceiving and outwardly malicious to you or their other coworkers. Here are three tell-tale signs that your coworker is a backstabber.
They think/talk about money a lot. Everyone has that one friend who is obsessed with income and worldly goods. (If you don't, you might be that friend) Anyway, if you see that your coworker is motivated very easily by money, it could also motivate them to stab others in the back. This is easy to see if they are constantly looking for a promotion or raise with significant monetary gain.
If they do it for you, they will do it to you. If this coworker will talk behind someone else's back with you being completely nasty, chances are, this person will do the same to you. Watch out for the coworker who will talk trash about someone at the water cooler with you, because they will also do it without you. Gossipers will gossip, with or without you.
They seem to use you as simple company or information. If your backstabbing coworker is sneaky, they might also use you for information or 'necessary company'. Are they bouncing around to different "allies" in the workplace? This can be extremely dangerous because they can turn around with any information and use it against you. Beware of this.
In the end, it comes down to their motivation. Would this person's motivation, be it fame or fortune, cause them to stab you in the back? In today's world, people tend to do things for personal gain over the gain of others. This selfishness causes people to possibly stab others in the back. In the workplace, if one of your coworkers is acting suspicious, ask yourself:
What is their motivation at work?
Do they gossip a lot?
Are they using me?
If you get answers that align with back stabbing motive, you might need to confront this person. Before confronting this coworker, make sure you have all you facts straight and substantial reason to be suspicious. Whatever you do, do not fight fire with fire. Spread rumors about this backstabbing coworker will only make things worse. If you both stab each other in the back, you have two people dead. Although in the workplace today there seem to be no moral sense of right and wrong, you can help move it back on track, one back stabber at a time.
