This article reports a study intended to develop a typology of “troublesome others” at work as a basis for research on unpleasant work relationships. Respondents were asked to assess an unpleasant work associate on a series of Likert-type scales; responses were submitted to factor analysis. The variables constructed from the factor analysis served as classification variables for cluster analyses of troublesome bosses, peers, and subordinates. The author presents the six troublesome boss clusters, eight troublesome peer clusters, and five troublesome subordinate clusters and discusses their implications for the impression formation literature and for management practice.

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A study of differences in men's and women's information, collegial, and special organizational peer relationships was conducted on a large, diverse sample (n = 666) in order to explore whether (1) work friendships tended to be same-or cross-sex and (2) whether same-sex work relationships had features and functions similar to nonwork same-sex relationships. Results were generally supportive of findings outside the organizational context for men's and women's relationships, but several interesting patterns were noted across relationship types that suggest different relational trajectories for men's and women's relationships. Specifically, the number of relationships claimed by men and women were similar, but women's collegial relationships were higher on several relational functions than men's, and women's special peer relationships were stronger than men's in several areas. This study shows that the work setting as a context is, for friendship purposes, similar to nonwork contexts.

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