punctuation for postpositive descriptive adjectives

Question

Does the following sentence work as-is, or should the comma be either a colon or a dash, or should I just avoid this sentence structure?

"My colleagues appreciate that I am a team player, flexible and always willing to help out."

I do not mean to list 3 attributes (I'm not asking about oxford commas ;) I mean for 'flexible' and 'willing to help out' to describe a team player. An equivalent sentence would be 'He was built like an ox, solid and strong.'

Answer 1

Hi Nicole,

Here are my recommendations:

"My colleagues appreciate that I am a flexible team player, always willing to help out." or "My colleagues appreciate that I am a team player, flexible and willing to help out."

Answer 2

I like a colon is this situation because it signifies the following traits of a team player.

Answer 3

I would use a hyphen in this case as the second part expands in the first idea.

Answer 4

Hellos Nicole!

I would recommend using a colon rather than leaving it as is or using a dash. As you already stated, you're not trying to list three attributes which is how most would read it if left as is. In regards to using a dash or a colon, they both work in this scenario. However, a dash tends to be reserved for more dramatic instances. Since you're not trying to add a dramatic flair to your sentence (you're just listing attributes to further emphasize you being a team player), I'd use a colon.