Friday, August 31st, 2007
Bad Bosses Impact Productivity
I stumbled across a blog for Robert I. Sutton, a professor of management science at Stanford University, who wrote a book called The No Asshole Rule, about the negative impact of bullies in management roles on both productivity as well as office environment. According to a review from publishers weekly, ” (Sutton) argues that assholes—those who deliberately make co-workers feel bad about themselves and who focus their aggression on the less powerful—poison the work environment, decrease productivity, induce qualified employees to quit and therefore are detrimental to businesses, regardless of their individual effectiveness.”
The modern corporate workplace is rife with power-starved,egomaniacs who derive their own self-importance from the domination of others. This is a all to common dynamic that many can relate to. Whether this behavior is the result of social conditioning or a conscious masochistic pleasure, simply put it’s bad for business. Reading about a phenomenon like this can also make you appreciate your small, friendly office environment even more.