I think regardless of where you work, there are colleagues that you adore, and colleagues that you can't stand. And unfortunately, often the ones you can't stand have a much greater impact on your day to day life in the office. As part of a national network, and looking at how diverse the members of the Century 21 family are, it's almost a given that not everyone is going to get along famously. The problem at work arises when those people who irk you do so to such an extent they make you want to stay away.
Working in real estate, like other service based roles, offers this problem up twofold because you have the people in your real estate agency to work with on a daily basis, but also your customers, and whilst the ideal customer/real estate agent relationship is a harmonious one, sometimes you are still possibly going to tread on each other's toes. On the flip side, a great colleague or a great client can make life a breeze and make your job a pleasure.
I recently read about a large survey that was conducted in the USA about what their biggest annoyances were in the office, and amazingly (or maybe not so much) they all involved co-workers. Apparently most colleagues can be defined into major groups, and the most annoying one was the office gossip. I thought this was interesting because often the person in the office with the dirt on everyone else is the go-to person for others' entertainment, but it seems the sensible amongst employees also see that too much tale telling can result in a bad working environment. All hail the committed workers! The other problem was people also thought the gossip was likely to turn to them at some point…
Other key gripes were the person who refuses to clean up after themselves and is responsible for (but will never admit to it) that awful growth and odd smell in the communal fridge. I've seen very expensive sets of Tupperware be thrown away because firstly no-one was game enough to empty the contents out to save the container, but secondly because no-one was prepared to own up to such hideous kitchen behaviour. Also incredibly annoying is the colleague who drowns themselves in fragrance and sets off everyone else's allergies. God knows in Sydney we've got enough to contend with, with the insane pollen count let alone worrying about choking in the cloying scent of the person in the next cubicle.
Despite there apparently being a group of annoying co-workers that transcends international boundaries, at the end of the day if you love your job enough, these things become trivial. I like to think the majority of our real estate franchisees are in this boat. I also like to think that as a bunch, we're not that annoying generally. In fact, I suggest you pop into your local Century 21 office to meet your local real estate expert and find out just how un-annoying we really are.