Politicians

This breed isn't found only in Indian government offices.

From making the right noises at the opportune moment, to backstabbing, complimenting the boss and running errands for him/ her, this one is the jack of all the dirty tricks of the trade. He/ she would neither forget to say the best things about the boss in his or her presence, nor hog the credit for your work, nor hesitate to pit co-workers against each other to stay one up.

In short, the politician is slick, devoid of a conscience, and usually hard to identify.

Counterattack: "Like all politicians, they must be dealt with diplomatically. Keep a safe distance from this one," says Narendra Agarwal, chief trainer and managing director of Timepause, a management training institute with clients like HSBC, IDBI, Airtel and various others. Also, keep a close eye on him/ her, so that you are able to thwart any attempts to involve you in office politics. Having open communication with other colleagues often helps as the politician generally targets them too.

The key here is a close watch. The more informed you are about the politician's games, the better you can avoid them.