W EEKLY EDITION NOVEMBER 6, 2019
J er ks At Wor k -
An d Ho w T o De a l W ith T he m
By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director …continued from page 2
It may be "easy" to make this sort of excuse for someone, especially if they have been around a
while – but let's be real. Jerks have no place in the modern business world and typically cause
much more damage in the long run than they're worth in the short run. This is not a matter of
"why can't we all get along" thinking; it comes down to the fact that jerks are bad for your bottom
line. Luckily, many people and companies are s tarting to realize this and are doing something
about it.
Alexander Kjerulf's blogpost presents
several anti - jerk approaches that every
workplace might consider.
1 : T h e No As sh o le R u le
In 2007 Robert Sutton wrote a book about
jerks at work that certainly vied for the
gutsy - book - title - of - the - year award. Sutton's
book is called The No Asshole Rule:
Building a Civilized Workplace and
Surviving One That Isn't and in 2017 he
wrote a follow up title c alled The Asshole
Survival Guide . Both are worth reading, but if you don't have time for that, check out an article on
CIO Insight where he explains why unpleasant people are so damaging to a business and some
things companies can do about it :
What can you do to get rid of these jerks, or at least to stop them from damaging you and
your organization? I can't promise any magical solutions, but there are steps you can take.
For starters, I am surprised by how few senior managers act to avoid hiring jerks in the first
place, or to stop abusive employees in their tracks once they reveal their true colors. The
key is to make explicit to everyone involved in hiring decisions that candidates who have
strong skills but who show signs they will belittle and disrespect others, cannot be hired
under any circumstances.
P AGE 12
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