The Virgo coworker is very, very concerned about something that pretty much no one in this day and age is ever concerned with ever. That something is the question of whether they are truly ready to do the job that they have been hired to do.

Ready?? Who cares? These days, most people never worry about whether they know how to do their jobs before they’re actually in the position of just doing it. We worry about whether we have a job, whether it pays enough, and whether we want to do it or not.

No, Virgo really cares about whether they are capable, whether they have the right skills, and if they are the right person. The Virgo coworker is not thinking about their next job or whether they want to rise in the ranks. They don’t want that. Their current job has their hands quite full because, as I said before, they spend all their time worrying about how to do it. They literally spend all their time thinking about their workflow process, the steps of their work, and how to improve their system.

You would think that such a diligent worker is rewarded by the company. Think again. The Virgo coworker tends to have a lot of unexpected issues with managers because they happen to intimidate the hell out of whoever gets assigned manager. “What the hell? Why is this person doing my job for me? Could it be that…they want my job?” managers worry when they are tasked with supervising the highly competent Virgo worker.

No. Again, the Virgo coworker does not want their manager’s job even if they’re fine taking over some (or all) of management’s tasks. They weren’t even thinking about working another job. Virgo does not want more work. The only reason why the Virgo coworker seems to be happy taking on a lot of work outside of their actual job is simply because they are trying to make the main parts of their work easier and other people happen to keep getting in the way.

The Virgo coworker is not power seeking. The Virgo coworker is stressed. That’s why they keep trying to make their workflow more efficient. They do NOT want more responsibility, particularly responsibility over other people.

You know what stresses a Virgo out the most? Problems caused by other people. The Virgo coworker is at their happiest when they don’t have to worry about other people or have to try and fix problems that are caused by you (because they care way too much and will get way too worried about you).

If you try to bring any of your day to day issues to your Virgo coworker, you will quickly find that they have made the molehill into a mountain. The Virgo coworker doesn’t want to hear about your troubles because they happen to get more stressed than you do. “Oh no,” they tell you bleakly when you blow off some steam about losing your lunch in the workplace fridge, eyes filling with unexpected dread. “How can we possibly trust each other if there’s an office thief?” they exclaim in terror. “We have to create a method of accountability here.”

You quickly try to retreat. You were just venting. Too late. Your Virgo coworker is already making an inventory sheet for the fridge, adding to their already long list of tasks.

Sometimes, the Virgo coworker makes more work for you too. You make an offhanded remark about the way your store sometimes miscalculates inventory and, suddenly, your Virgo coworker has assigned you the work of counting each item so that they can design a better system. You try to take your complaint back because you actually don’t really care about the inventory but your Virgo coworker has already started counting. How can you say no when someone else has already started to work hard right in front of you? With a sigh, you pick up the clipboard that Virgo has fastidiously made for you and start counting aprons.

Weeks later, the new system is operating. No one is used to it but everyone is begrudgingly forced to admit that it is a by far superior system. You sigh wearily because, now, you’re no longer allowed to just eyeball how many aprons you have in stock. You’re forced to count them each time, inputting the number into a digital system. Every time you do, Virgo coworker smiles warmly at you. “I’m hearing you,” their smile seems to say. “I’ve made my coworker feel truly listened to and now they can do their job much better,” they’re probably thinking in their head.

Virgo has what Chinese people call a tofu heart. A tofu heart is a heart so soft that it simply falls apart at the first sign of trouble. People with a tofu heart tend to stress more about your problems than you do and they tend to rush in to help people whenever someone gets in trouble. They also tend to make a lot of work for themselves trying to fix issues that the people involved might not even be trying to address.

Yes, it’s out of care. Shut up and listen to Virgo. They will worry about you until you do.

The worst possible task that you can assign to a Virgo is the task of self promotion. A Virgo who works in sales will be sure to tell the customer about all of the defects in a product before anything else. A Virgo who is trying to raise money spends a lot of time telling potential funders about all of the many problems internal to the project. They tend to miss one crucial detail: the project may be hanging on by a loose thread but it is still functioning because it has a Virgo making it work with simple magic and elbow grease.

When interviewing for work, the Virgo coworker is very often freely sharing information about everything that they think they did wrong at their last job. They give a long, lengthy response to the classic interview questions of “What is your biggest flaw?” and they rely on other people to toot their horn. Of course, whenever you try to compliment a Virgo, they come up with all kinds of weird little self critiques in response.

When it comes to getting along with a Virgo coworker, just offer simple encouragement. Tell them that they’re doing a good job now and then because they probably are. Never criticize because criticism rarely helps a Virgo. Criticism merely makes their expectations of themselves rise. Instead, be kindly encouraging when you can and leave Virgo be if you aren’t going to be kind. Act happy when you are. A Virgo who sees that you are happy, who doesn’t need to worry about you, becomes a happy Virgo.