An essential book that details the cost of workplace assholes. I read once that when there is a problem with an employee (such as those indicated in this book) it's important to address how the problem affects the company and the bottom line as opposed to one's personal feelings. This book details how to deal with assholes, how to handle them, and what to do if you can't get out of a bad work situation.

What I like most about the book is looking inward. The first step should be looking at yourself, are you an asshole? How do you treat other people, how do they feel after interactions, are they avoiding you? This book doesn't have hard research or documentation other than the damage done to companies with toxic employees. There are other books that have come out in the same vein as Sutton's that I would recommend that addresses that research thoroughly. The Cost of Bad Behavior and The Civility Solution are both two books that deal with the more technical side of this problem and I think are useful in developing a strategy against toxic employees and workplaces.

I have read Sutton's blog for many years so much of the stuff in the book is a repetition of that information. The book is quick read with solid points on how to identify if you are an asshole, how to identify assholes (especially the difference between people having a bad day or moment and those that consistently treat people poorly), and what to do if you cannot leave a job situation that is toxic. I would highly recommend this book even if you don't feel that you are working with toxic employees are people, but especially if you feel that you are. This book will help you get through it.


Best Passages from the book:

-Negative interactions has a fivefold stronger effect on mood than positive interactions--so nasty people pack a lot more wallop than their more civilized counterparts. p. 31

...units with the best leadership and coworker relationships reported the most errors: units with the best leaders reported making as many as ten times more errors than the units with the worst leaders...nurses felt "psychologically safe" to admit their mistakes. p. 40

"...powerful people construe others as a means to one's own ends while simultaneously giving themselves excessive credit for good things that happen to themselves and their organizations. p. 74

Fight as if you are right, listen as if you are wrong. p. 81 (lessons for constructive conflict)

the no asshole rule is meaningless unless you treat the person right in front of you, right now, in the right way. p. 89

the first step is to view acting like an asshole as a communicable disease. Once you unleash disdain, anger, and contempt or someone unleashes it on you, it spreads like wildfire. p. 96

Ruth's "Satan's Cesspool Strategy":
Reframe the nastiness that she faced in ways that helped her become emotionally detached from the assholes--even downright indifferent to what was happening.

Don't struggle against larger forces that she couldn't control. She focused instead on small ways to gain tidbits of control, including helping fellow victims cope with the jerks by teaching the victims her strategy, giving them emotional support, and concentrating on helping the good people in the company. She picked small battles she could win and took small steps to undermind the worst of her tormenters. p. 131

Reframing: when people view difficulties as temporary and not their fault, and as something that will not prevade and ruin the rest of their lives, this frame protects their mental and physical health and enhances their resilience. ("learned optimism") p. 132

...happiness reflects the difference between what you expect versus what you actually get in life--so if you keep expecting good things to happen, but they never do or take a turn for the worse, you will suffer constant unhappiness. The trick is not to expect jerks will change their behavior. Keep your expectations for their behavior low, but continue to believe that you will be fine after the ordeal is over. That way, you won't be surprised by your colleagues' relentless nastiness. p. 134

detached indifference, simply not giving a damn, might be the best you can do to survive a workplace that subjects you to relentless humiliation. p. 138

Rigorous research confirms that the feeling of control--perceiving that you have the power to shape even small aspects of your fate--can have a huge impact on human well-being. p. 139

...find places and times where you can hide from your tormentors. Meet with them as rarely as possible. Schedule meetings that will be short...p. 142