At this point, I am halfway through Monsters at Work and I have concluded that this show is really for adults like me and not children. In every episode I see one of my coworkers, both former and present, and I would like to take the time to break each of them down.
Let’s start with the newbie, Tylor Tuskmon. Tylor came in with the dream of becoming a scarer only to find out that the job he wanted has suddenly changed. Can anyone relate? Have you ever applied to a job, get through the interview process, snag the job only to get in and the job is not what was originally sold to you? What do you do? You do what Tylor does–on the job training. His dream is to be on the Scare…I mean Laugh Floor and he will do what he needs to in order to accomplish said goal. We’ll call him The Hustler.
Then, there are people like Val Little. Val is the person who either referred you to the job or is someone you know from school, through mutual friends or wherever who works here. In this case, honestly, Val is neither for Tylor because until episode three he doesn’t remember any of what she mentions. She is The Dreamer. She loves her job, her team and will do what she can to make both a winning combination. She’s probably the only person on or the lead of the Birthday and Welcome Committee. She is also someone who is way too peppy for it to be 7 or 8 a.m. or even 2 p.m. Some days you just need to be meh.
Fritz is The Boss. We usually just call our boss by their first or last name or, for better or worse, some special nickname. Being a boss can go a couple of ways. Fritz is the boss that sees potential in everyone. He’s been with Monsters Inc for years and, much like Val, loves his team and his job. His goal is to make you feel welcome and included in everything they do. He wants this to be your home away from home, even if it kills him. You can come to him with anything, like my boss, and he will work around or help in any way he can. Now Fritz is probably the lead of the Welcome Committee and probably has a big role in the Birthday Committee.
Then, there are people like Duncan P. Anderson. If you watch this show, Duncan mentions that he is second in command every chance he gets. He also mentions often that he wants Fritz’s job. Do you have that one coworker that always wants to tell you what to do but they have the same job you do? Or they might have been there a year or two more than you? That’s Duncan and we saw what happened when we put him in charge. There was a blackout in the city. Duncan is The Wannabe and not a cool one the Spice Girls were talking about in the 90’s.
Last but not least, we have Katherine “Cutter” Sterns. She is The Veteran. This is the coworker that you either call by their last name or a nickname and had no idea what their actual name was until you had spent years with the company. My favorite part with Cutter was when her, Tylor, Duncan and Val (how many monsters does it take to fix a wall) were in the little girl’s room and her alarm went off indicating that it was time for her “union break.” Any time you see Cutter, she’s about work and doing that work the right way. She doesn’t do too much or too little and her break comes like clockwork. She will stop in the middle of what she’s doing to make sure she takes it and every second will be taken.
Which employee are you? Do any of these employees seem familiar to you?
BLACK WATCH 