Zusammenfassung von The No Asshole Rule

Lots of workplaces tolerate poor behavior without realizing the damage it causes.

In offices where asshole behavior goes unchallenged, employee morale is undeniably lower than in comparable workplaces that maintain a friendly, respectful and professional atmosphere.

All too often assholes are tolerated in the workplace. Their temper tantrums and spitefulness are put down as character flaws, and they’re excused because they are talented, smart or difficult to replace.

But in tolerating them, businesses are doing themselves a grave disservice. To put it another way, employees who make others feel uncomfortable or upset are incompetent, regardless of their other qualities or abilities. This No Asshole Rule must be applied to all people, whatever their qualifications.

Studies have shown that people given higher status are more likely to behave like assholes. They are likely to talk more than others, take what they want without considering the people around them, take personal credit for group efforts, and generally tend to use others as a means to an end.

One interesting study had groups of three students discuss various issues, with one student per group randomly chosen to rate the others’ arguments, therefore bestowing them with a higher status in the group. But the study was actually about observing how the students ate from a shared plate of cookies, and results showed the higher-status students were more likely to break social conventions: taking the last cookie, chewing with their mouth open and leaving more crumbs behind.

Being an asshole carries some advantages. Studies have shown that people who act aggressively and recklessly at work are often regarded not only as cold and unpleasant but also competent and resourceful.

There can be fierce rivalries between competing managers in companies, and the most aggressive one often wins. Being cold and ruthless can be just as much of an advantage in the business world as in the Mafia or a tribe of chimpanzees.

The business world is a cutthroat environment; competition between firms is fierce and unending, and all too often this attitude is carried over into companies’ internal cultures.

Of course healthy competition between individuals can be good for a company; ambition is a great way to motivate employees to work harder, take risks and come up with new ideas.

Being an asshole is a highly contagious condition.

The saying “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas,” is true for assholes as well. Simply being around angry and aggressive people can noticeably alter your mood and behavior. If you work in a rude and disrespectful culture, you’ll soon get used to rudeness and lack of respect and gradually also begin to exhibit those behaviors towards others. Being an asshole also has a way of creeping into your private life.

In many workplaces it’s impossible to completely avoid contact with assholes. Working with, or worse, under an asshole can be demoralizing, even if you don’t immediately realize how much stress it actually causes. Therefore, it’s important to have a strategy for getting through the day emotionally unscathed.

Generally, the most important thing is to not let an asshole drag you down to his level. It’s difficult, but try to remain calm, don’t respond to aggression with more aggression, and keep as much distance as possible between you and any hurtful things being said. It may help to remind yourself that the person you’re dealing with is just an asshole, no matter how senior they may be.

Whether you’re at the office or at home, it only takes one asshole to ruin a conversation. Even if everyone else is behaving normally, one asshole can spoil the mood for the entire room.

Negative events have five times the effect on our mood compared to positive ones, meaning that if five nice people brighten your day by complimenting you or bringing you good news, it only takes one asshole to bring you back down to where you started.

The key message in this book:

Companies should have a zero tolerance policy towards assholes and bad behavior. This raises employee morale, productivity and company loyalty.