ALIENATOR

Distance is your signature talent. You excel in identifying people’s weaknesses and foibles and then pointing them out to them in public, so that they will stay at a safe distance from you. You find it especially rewarding when you say something that keeps people from interacting with you for long periods of time, even years.

Alientator sounds like this:

John C., quality control specialist: “I don’t really trust people, so I never like to really get to know anyone too deeply.”

Damien T., neurosurgeon: “Some people call me ‘prickly’, but, you know, I really prefer it when people know I speak my mind. If they don’t like it, they don’t have to hang around me – I could care less.”

ANAL

If you register as anal, your main theme is detail, detail, detail. You enjoy paying attention to insignificant facts and irrelevant details, such as how many seconds in a year and the names listing in the P section of the phone book. No detail is too unimportant to escape your gaze. Some people say you’re controlling, but you know those types simply have no standards. If it weren’t for you, the world would go to hell in a handbasket.

ANNOY

If annoy is your signature them, you delight in irritating others and watching them get upset. In fact, your day is not complete unless you have knowingly caused someone – preferably a co-worker or subordinate – mild to severe emotional trauma. Your best days are punctuated by the emotional outbursts you know you yourself have caused.

Annoy sounds like this:

Jamie D., first-grade teacher: “I love to pester people. When I was growing up it was my favorite thing to take my little brother’s stuff and run away with it until he cried and my dad spanked me. What a rush!”

BOREDOM

If boredom is your signature theme, the world is cast in tones of beige – everything (and we mean EVERYTHING) is so humdrum. Every new topic you come across and every assignment your boss gives you is so dreadfully dull and stultifying that you must struggle to stay awake as you do it. Rarely are you the life of the party, but you don’t care. Why? – because it’s so boring.

CO-DEPENDENT

Not only do you know everyone’s business, but you see it as your mission in life to fix problems others exhibit. You cannot be truly fulfilled unless you are supporting your co-workers in both learning about other people’s problems, and brainstorming solutions with them to those other people’s problems. Rarely do you need to communicate those solutions to those other people, though – just the activity in itself is most satisfying to you.

DESTROYER

Everything in life has a downside, and it’s your job to point that out to others. You wouldn’t want them to fail, when you could be so very helpful to them in clarifying their fuzzy thinking. If it weren’t for you, people would blithely try reasonable new innovations without fully scrutinizing every last gnat’s ass problem that MIGHT happen upon implementation.

Destroyer sounds like this:

John M., mid-level administrator: “People can’t just try out any old idea that comes to mind. After all, we don’t want people to think we’ve lowered our standards around here.”