people who are a nightmare but good at the job, or people who are rubbish but nice?

chubsta

Actually, they aren't senior to me in terms of either employment time or experience, and I don't think that matters to them at all as they seem to treat pretty much everyone the same, which is why they have such a terrible reputation. In terms of my own feelings about working with them I am quite happy to continue to do so as can 'handle' them with no problems, although it does get a little wearing sometimes. In the past they have been reported for bullying and for their general attitude and I think perhaps some of what they do now is very defensive - almost like they have to pick holes in other peoples work in order to have some ammunition ready for the inevitable next complaint. Our managers do not seem to ever be willing to confront them and no action has ever been taken apart from them being moved around to a new Team when it is clear they cannot continue to work where they are.

But, they do a great job and working with them is so much less stressful for me than having to constantly cover for people who just can't be bothered. What has helped I think is that one of them was in a situation where they really did not know what to do and I just came in and took over, sorted everything out and never mentioned it again - if it had been reversed I would never have heard the end of it but there is no way I would ever leave a colleague to struggle, let alone do it to make a point. Since then they have been a lot easier to work with - perhaps they thought I had been brought in to 'deal with them' which is not the case. 

In the near future I am likely to be moved on again to help out elsewhere and in a way I think I will miss working with them...

concerneduk2020

It’s interesting that you define one group as good at their job and one group as not. It sounds to me like the confrontational couple need to work on their interpersonal skills if they have alienated everyone else at the company. Communication is a really important part of any role so if they are as bad as you say I wouldn’t describe them as good at their job. The second group just want to come in, get their work done, and go home, this doesn’t make them bad at their job, it just means they have different priorities in terms of work life balance right now.

what worries me is the seemingly absent management at your workplace who have managed to firstly fail to address the couple’s communication problems to the point that no one wants to work with them. Then secondly, they seem to have ignored how work is distributed on the other team so one person is picking up all the challenging tasks to the point of suffering from stress. Seems like the management team are the ones who are bad at their job.

connors07

Sometimes line managers/MDs like having those (the married couple) that can rock the apple cart; some might do the lip service chat to remind them of the boundaries and where the line is. But deep down they will like the affect the married couple may have on members of the team/company as it means they have less managing of people to do. Honest conflict is always better than dishonest harmony but there is ways to go about this; i.e not a blazing row in the middle of an office! 

Having said that I've had a public row with a colleague who is very good at what they do; at work socials we actually found out we like each other but our 'work personalities/styles' very much do clash. It doesn't bother me; I don't have to like people I work with; its a preference don't get me wrong but not essential. 
 

ginger_chocolate

I actually like a mix. And having a mixture of "soft skills" and hard talent can be a good thing in any team. In my team there are people who are absolutely meticulous in their knowledge of regulations and attention to detail, if I wanted a piece of work done quickly and to a high standard, they'd be my first choice. However, I definitely wouldn't want them speaking to the general public or trying to resolve anything that needed a degree of tact and people skills. I'd also hate to only work with people like that.

On the other hand there are also some really personable people who struggle with basic IT skills and arithmetic and take ages to get anything done, but when it comes to smoothing over a crisis or calming down a dispute, they really come into their own. I'd also find it very frustrating to only work with people like that.

With regards hard-working/workshy.  You definitely don't want complete slackers on your team, but there is also something irritating about the over-keen types who rather than happily enjoying a quiet spell seem determined to create more unnecessary work for everybody. Do what you're paid to do, do it on time, do it well - but leave it there!

Ditzy_Mitzy

I've been in a similar situation, where one member of a department was a vastly productive prima donna and the others were merely average.  It was awful, like an engine running with no oil, all we did was bump and scrape against each other, generate excessive heat in the form of anger and gradually suffer ever more damage.  The prima donna realised that the security of her position was entirely predicated on her continuing to produce ever greater results, without that all she would be was a disruptive element.  She drove herself harder and harder and then, as expected, she broke under the strain of trying to keep all that up.  the rest, cowed by the frankly awful atmosphere, were unproductive.  The whole department sank.
Better to have a slower running department in which individuals get on.  Management can work to increase productivity without the difficulties inherent with destructive personalities.