The No Asshole Rule
Encyclopedia
The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't is a book by Stanford
professor, Robert I. Sutton
, based upon a popular essay he wrote for the Harvard Business Review
. It was a best-seller for many months, selling over 115,000 copies in 2007, and won the Quill Award
for best business book in 2007.
The theme of this book is that bullying
behaviour in the workplace worsens morale
and productivity
. A rule is suggested to screen out the toxic staff – the no asshole rule. The author insists upon use of the word asshole
since other words such as bully or jerk
do not have the same impact.
Two tests are specified for recognition of the asshole:
Their unpleasant behaviours were catalogued by Sutton as The Dirty Dozen:
Famous bosses who are cited as having weakened their position by such bad behaviour include Al Dunlap and Michael Eisner
. Companies who are listed as having appropriate recruitment policies include: Barclays Capital
, Google
, Jet Blue and Men's Wearhouse
.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
professor, Robert I. Sutton
Robert I. Sutton
Robert I. Sutton is Professor of Management science at the Stanford Engineering School and researcher in the field of Evidence-based management....
, based upon a popular essay he wrote for the Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
. It was a best-seller for many months, selling over 115,000 copies in 2007, and won the Quill Award
Quill Awards
The Quill Award was an American literary award that ran for three years in 2005-07. It was a "consumer-driven award created to inspire reading while promoting literacy." The Quills Foundation, the organization behind the Quill Award, was supported by a number of notable media corporations,...
for best business book in 2007.
The theme of this book is that bullying
Workplace bullying
Workplace bullying, like childhood bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behaviour against a co-worker or subordinate. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation...
behaviour in the workplace worsens morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
and productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
. A rule is suggested to screen out the toxic staff – the no asshole rule. The author insists upon use of the word asshole
Asshole
The word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a term used pejoratively to describe the anus.-History:...
since other words such as bully or jerk
Jerk
In physics, jerk, also known as jolt , surge and lurch, is the rate of change of acceleration; that is, the derivative of acceleration with respect to time, the second derivative of velocity, or the third derivative of position...
do not have the same impact.
Two tests are specified for recognition of the asshole:
- After encountering the person, do people feel oppressed, humiliated or otherwise worse about themselves?
- Does the person target people who are less powerful than he?
Their unpleasant behaviours were catalogued by Sutton as The Dirty Dozen:
- InsultInsultAn insult is an expression, statement which is considered degrading and offensive. Insults may be intentional or accidental...
s - Violation of personal spacePersonal spacePersonal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs. Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached. Permitting a person to enter personal space and entering somebody else's personal...
- Unsolicited touchingHaptic communicationHaptic communication is the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. Touch, or the haptic sense, is extremely important for humans; as well as providing information about surfaces and textures it is a component of nonverbal communication in interpersonal relationships, and...
- ThreatThreatThreat of force in public international law is a situation between states described by British lawyer Ian Brownlie as:The 1969 Vienna convention on the Law of Treaties notes in its preamble that both the threat and the use of force are prohibited...
s - SarcasmSarcasmSarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
- Flames
- HumiliationHumiliationHumiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It can be brought about through bullying, intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by embarrassment if a person is revealed to have...
- Shaming
- InterruptionInterruption scienceInterruption science is the "study of the effect of disruptions on job performance". Office workers face a number of interruptions due to e-mail, phone calls, and visits from co-workers, all of which may be annoying and affect their productivity...
- BackbitingBackbitingBackbiting or tale-bearing is to slander someone in their absence — to bite them behind their back. Originally, backbiting referred to an unsporting attack from the rear in the blood sport of bearbaiting....
- GlaringGlaringA glare is a facial expression showing disapproval, fierceness and/or hostility. Glaring, in some cultures is considered offensive. A glare may be induced by anger or frustration....
- SnubbingSnubA snub is a refusal to recognise an acquaintance. It may also refer to:*snub , including the Snub cube ; an Archimedean solid.*Unusually short, as in a snub nose.* Snub-nosed monkey, an Old World monkey...
Famous bosses who are cited as having weakened their position by such bad behaviour include Al Dunlap and Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
. Companies who are listed as having appropriate recruitment policies include: Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital is a global British investment bank. It is the investment banking division of Barclays plc which has a balance sheet of over £1.2 trillion . Barclays Capital provides financing and risk management services to large companies, institutions and government clients. It is a primary...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Jet Blue and Men's Wearhouse
Men's Wearhouse
Men's Wearhouse is a men's dress apparel retailer in the United States. The company is based in the Westchase area of Houston, Texas, and it is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange...
.