Fending off workplace predators

Jerks at work: Toxic coworkers and what to do about them

Author: Tessa West

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Pages: 261

Price: Rs 799

A decade ago, I joined a well-known research organisation. All was well until another person (whom we shall dub the jerk) joined the workplace. Instead of sitting in front of his computer and doing an honest day’s work, this gentleman would spend four to five hours each day closeted with the boss, also the firm’s owner. They were ostensibly discussing new ideas. But all that brainstorming never bore any fruit. In reality, this gentleman earned his rather hefty salary by tattling against the other team members. The boss, who, one would imagine, owed at least a part of his good fortune to his employees’ hard work, was, alas, the sort of person who believed they were all out to rip him off. He lent a willing ear to the jerk’s stories and turned up the heat on his employees. In the days that followed, many good people left.

A team and an environment that had been built painstakingly fell apart in no time.

When we are young and innocent, we are apt to believe that knowledge, intelligence and hard work always triumph. All we need to do is perform well and promotions and salary increases will follow. Young employees don’t account for the piranhas that infest the corporate waters. These are people who have refined the art of advancing without working, or earning rewards disproportionate to their contributions. They do so by feasting off others’ work. You underestimate the damage they are capable of causing at your peril.

Most employees respond to jerks by becoming hyper-submissive. They avoid them as far as possible and suffer in silence. The rage simmers within until it explodes one day and they chuck their job. In all this, however, they are the ones who lose out. They lose out on income while they are unemployed. Since they possess zero bargaining power, they often have to accept the next job at a lower salary. Sometimes, in the worst of ironies, they end up at another workplace where they have to deal with a new set of predators.  

Instead of oscillating between abject submission and dramatic resignation, we need alternative ways to deal with jerks at the workplace. Tessa West, an associate professor of psychology at the New York University, has written a much-needed and well-researched book that offers pointers in this regard.  

Ms West categorises jerks into kiss up/kick downers, credit-stealers, bulldozers, free-riders, micromanagers, neglectful bosses, and gaslighters. She has devoted a separate chapter to each. She explains how they think and the Machiavellian ways in which they operate. She highlights the sneaky actions you should watch out for. Most importantly, she offers detailed strategies on how to counter them.  

While the author has provided clearly demarcated profiles of jerks, the ones you meet in real life could well be composites. And while coworkers may be easier to handle, it is the jerk-like boss that can make your life hell. Ms West offers sensible strategies on how to build relationships with people that can offer you organisational wisdom. She teaches how you should go about building alliances with other victims. She also offers insights on how to bring up the problem before your superiors so that your complaint elicits a positive response.

Ms West’s strategies are sound and worth trying, but you also need to be a pragmatist and weigh your situation in the light of “the law of incentives”. If your contributions are essential to your superior’s survival, he is more likely to respond to your complaint and try to minimise the havoc being wrought by the jerk. On the other hand, if for some reason your boss finds the jerk indispensable, you could well be shown the door.

Pay heed to the demand-supply situation. If quality workers are not easily available in your sector, your organisation is likely to work harder to maintain a healthy environment that minimises employee turnover. But if alternatives are easy to find, they may feel less strongly about fairness and decency.

In the long run, that may not be such a bad thing. Some workplaces and bosses are simply more toxic than others. Sticking to them will exact a heavy toll on your health and mental well-being. Being prepared to look out for opportunities outside your current organisation must be an essential part of your survival toolkit. By moving on, you will give yourself the chance to find a more congenial workplace — one with a certain level of decency, and whose higher management values quality work. Once you find one, settle down and enjoy a long, peaceful stint.  

Read this book and absorb its essence, but also work on enhancing your indispensability through your contributions. As you gain credibility, it will become harder for jerks to target you.