Did any of your co-workers manage to scare you more than usual this Halloween?  According to staffing firm Accountemps, ghosts and goblins that traditionally make their appearance on October 31 may have office counterparts whose behaviors bedevil their managers throughout the year.  Executives polled in a recent survey say that almost a fifth (18 percent) of managers’ time - or more than seven hours each week -  is spent sorting out personality conflicts among staff members.  Here are Accountemps’ common year-round workplace goblins:

• The Ghost Employee.  There’s nothing quite as frustrating as a staff member you can never find.  Whether out on official business or not, some people seem perpetually away from the office and turn up only rarely for meetings and group events. 
• The Witch’s Brewer.  It’s hard for people to concentrate on their work when they’re overcome by the smell of someone’s microwave popcorn or reheated dinner. 
• The Office Spook.  This type relishes scaring coworkers - especially new ones - about the hardships of working at your business.  Painting the boss as a fire-breathing ogre and spreading other tales of woe are this person’s specialty. 
• The Laughing Hyena.  This personality type finds everything funny - especially her own jokes.  She’s not aware that her voice carries and can be heard many cubicles away. 

In my experience, the Office Spook is the most common of these troublemakers.  These folks may not mean to create a toxic work environment, but negativity and its primary symptom, complaining, are contagious and make it difficult for a team to be happy and productive on the job.  I’ve also come across some clever disguises worn by the Laughing Hyena – namely the Babbling Birdy, who cannot shut up for two seconds, and Militaristic Mongrel, who bites if you get within a foot of his territory. 

Needless to say, if YOU resemble one of these guys, please lay off for the sake of your poor manager’s sanity.