Jerks at Work

A fun guide to understanding and dealing with a universal workplace problem — difficult colleagues — based on original research by Tessa West, Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University.

Want to get those difficult colleagues off your back and restore your sanity? NYU psychology professor Tessa West shows you how.

Have you ever watched a colleague charm the pants off management while showing a competitive, Machiavellian side to the lower ranks? They don't hesitate to throw peers under the bus, but their boss is oblivious to their bad behaviour. What about a constantly interrupting colleague? Or an over-bearing manager? While these jerks stress us out in small ways throughout the day, they aren't technically breaking any rules, so we're expected just to put up with them.

Until now. Tessa West has helped thousands of people resolve their most pressing workplace issues. And now she draws on a decade of original research to profile classic workplace archetypes, including the Gaslighter, the Bulldozer, the Credit-Stealer, the Neglecter, and the Micromanager, giving advice to anyone who's ever hidden in the bathroom to cry at work. She digs deep into the inner workings of each bad apple, exploring their motivations and insecurities, and offers clever strategies for stopping each type of jerk in their tracks.

Know a Jerk at Work? This proactive approach reveals the single, most effective way to achieve emotional wellbeing at work.