Archives: June 2008

Tips for Surviving Workplace Assholes: The Most Important Advice of All

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 30, Categories:

I maintain a list of methods for enduring and triumphing against abusive bosses and co-workers. I update these every few months, and just did so for BusinessWeek readers. Some of...

The Prying Boss

Posted by: Ben Dattner on June 26, Categories:

Boundaries are often difficult to navigate in the workplace, and some bosses make this even harder than usual. A boss who is overly curious about one's personal life presents...

The Teflon Boss

Posted by: Ben Dattner on June 24, Categories:

One special kind of hellish boss is the one who does the opposite of what Jim Collins describes and recommends in “Good to Great”. Collins found and suggests that...

Are You a Certified Jerk? Take the ARSE and Find Out

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 24, Categories:

One of the most popular and fun things we’ve done since publishing The No Asshole Rule is to put the self-test from Chapter 4 online. I worked with Guy...

Reflections on narcissistic bosses

Posted by: Ben Dattner on June 23, Categories:

Despite many articles and books extolling the value of humility and emotional intelligence among business leaders, narcissism still abounds in the contemporary workplace. There has recently been more interest...

Is Your Future Boss a Demeaning Creep?

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 23, Categories:

One of the best ways to avoid being damaged by a bully boss, and to avoid becoming a workplace jerk yourself (recall that asshole poisoning is a contagious disease),...

But Why Do They Do It?

Posted by: Annie McKee on June 23, Categories:

We’ve all had toxic bosses, we all have stories about the rotten beasts who with raised eyebrow, misplaced blame or flat-out evil behavior ruin our day, and sometimes ruin...

Bob Sutton's Reply to Reader Chris

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 23, Categories:

Dear Chris, Thanks for taking the time to write us about your detailed and rather horrifying tale. It sounds to me like you did everything within reason, in fact, the...

A Comment for Bob Sutton from Reader Chris

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 23, Categories:

I recognised that the Asshole problem was fuelled by a workplace imbalance of power, and decided to take a stand. Firstly, I challenged the Human Relations policymakers to change their...

The Most Reliable Ways to Become a Workplace Jerk – the Power Paradox

Posted by: Robert Sutton on June 20, Categories:

My last post focused on “asshole poisoning,” on how acting nasty is a contagious disease that you catch from others people. I warned that even the nicest people can...

Why are there so many bad bosses?

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on June 20, Categories:

Years ago I wrote a story for BusinessWeek about a group of people who served as the secret therapist-consiglieris to ceos across the country: ceo coaches. It was during...

The Most Reliable Ways to Become a Workplace Jerk

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on June 20, Categories:

People, I am delighted to introduce Robert Sutton, he of Stanford University and No Asshole Rule fame. Here is what I want to say about the man. He wrote...

Metabolizing Toxic Bosses

Posted by: Ben Dattner on June 18, Categories:

Welcome to all- it's good to be with you in this new corner of the blogosphere. I look forward to discussing and debating toxic bosses with you, and welcome...

This Man Can Solve Your Problems

Posted by: Michelle Conlin on June 10, Categories:

Meet Ben Dattner, founder of Dattner Consulting, blogger extraordinaire for Psychology Today and all-round emotional genius when it comes to the fiery circles of boss hell. Dattner advises mega...