by Elyse Williams

Created on: August 16, 2008   Last Updated: October 11, 2011

The title of this article is "How to tell if you're a flaky employee". If I was so flaky would I then not be able to tell the extent of my flakiness? What does flaky mean exactly and what measures does one use to determine flakiness and the degrees of this flakiness.

I suppose that you do get vibes from other employees. Do they look at you like you are from another planet? Do your co-workers in turn never seem to "get" what it is you are saying, or is it vice-versa? Does one ever have the nerve to come right out and be honest and say "hey, you are just a flaky employee."

Do you end up getting the grunt work and not the really good, intellectual projects? Did you ever have your boss say he/she doesn't think you could handle these elite projects? "Er...look Sue, I don't really think that you are up to speed yet..so we are going to let Jim head up that project". Is this another way of saying "Sue, frankly you're a bit too flaky for that project."

The question still exists: do we really want to tell if we are a flaky employee? And if we are, what then? Is there a way to correct our flakiness? Why am I working at a company in my flaked state of mind? Why do they want me to? Do perceptions matter? Am I going to drive myself crazy wondering if I am flaky?

Can someone just come up and be honest and blurt it out so that it would end my confusion? If I am a flake, can I then go to "flakes anonymous?" "My name is Elyse and I am a flaky employee". Do all the other flaky employees meet there and go through steps to change our flaky ways? Will they then come to me at work, give me a certificate for meeting the "de-flaking" requirements? Do I get a promotion to where all the non-flaky employees are?

And if I think someone else is flaky - do I want to tell him/her? Does he/she have a right to know?

I ask many questions but still, I am not quite sure how to tell if I am a flaky employee. I suppose again if I was so flaky I wouldn't be able to tell. Then again, the meaning of a "flake" is still somewhat vague.

I honestly don't think I want to tell if I am a "flaky" employee. Perhaps I am the non-flaky employee and everyone else around me is flaky. Perhaps we are all in our own flaky world. Either way, let me revel in my mindset and not over-analyze. It's a job. I work hard. I do my best. Flaky or not, I try to overcome the day to day challenges. And that is what works for me.

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