Jerks at Work

A practical and hilarious guide to getting difficult people off your back, for anyone pulling their hair out over an irritating colleague who's not technically breaking any rulesFrom open floor plans and Zoom calls to Slack channels, the workplace has changed a lot over the years. But there s one thing that never changes: you ll always encounter jerks. Jerks at Work is the definitive guide to dealing with and ultimately breaking free from the overbearing bosses, irritating coworkers, and all-around difficult people who make work and life miserable. Social psychologist Tessa West has spent years leveraging science to help people solve interpersonal conflicts in the workplace. What she discovered is that most of our go-to tactics don t work because they fail to address the specific motivations that drive bad behavior. In this book, she takes you on a rollicking deep dive of the seven jerks you re most likely to encounter at the office, drawing on decades of original research to expose their inner workings and weak points and ultimately deliver an effective game plan for stopping each type before they take you down with them. Jerks at Work is packed with everyday examples and clever strategies, such as how to:     Stop a Bulldozer from gaining influence by making sure they're not the first to speak up in meetings     Report a Kiss Up/Kick Downer to a manager who idolizes them without looking like the bad guy     Protect your high-achieving team from Free Riders without stifling collaboration     Use a Gaslighter s tactics to beat them at their own game For anyone who s said I can t stand that jerk! more times than they d like to admit, Jerks at Work is the ultimate playbook you wish you didn t need but will always turn to.