When People Stop Being Polite...and Start Getting REAL: The Office Edition

I've recently started a new job and my first few days at the office reminded me of the premier episodes of the Real World. In the beginning everyone is so nice, all smiles, putting their best face forward, and trying to help you feel welcome. Whether it's to make them look better or help reassure you that you've made a good decision to work for that company; people tend to be on their best behavior when there is a new employee in the office. I know in my own experience I've held my tongue around the new employee or tried to give a better impression of the company than I may have truly felt it deserved. However...a few weeks or even just a few days into the job you start to see glimpses of people's true personalities and what you really are getting yourself into. At this point people's representatives have exited stage left and the real person that you'll be working with until you or he/she quits comes out. Luckily, I've had experiences where I realize that the real person is actually better than their representative because guards have been let down and they realize that you aren't here to steal their jobs or spy on them for the boss. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case and when the true essence of who some people are is revealed you sometimes wish you could stuff this new found personality into a closet never to see the light of day again. You find that the person is difficult to work with, doesn't understand that there is more than one way to do things, could care less about team effort, and is always looking for ways to throw somebody under the bus if it makes him/her look better. It seems that there usually at least one that is like this, but the key is to figure out how to either work with or around that person. You can't control that person's actions, but you can control your reactions to people. So instead of things turning into the typical season episode 5 brawl of the Real World, it's best to take the high road and learn how to play well with others despite their idiosyncrasies. It's better to learn how to recognize challenges and be proactive in facing them instead of being reactive not knowing how to handle the situation.

So ladies and gentlemen, when you stopped being polite and started being real were people still enchanted with your personality at work? Have you experienced this Real World change before as the new person at your job? A better question...have you found this same concept to be true with personal relationships? When dating??? That's a whole other post right there! Hahaha....