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  • Published: 20 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9781473595149
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 272

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 already helped thousands of people resolve their most pressing workplace issues. And here 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.

  • Published: 20 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9781473595149
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 272

About the author

Tessa West

Tessa West is an Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University. A leading expert on interpersonal interaction and communication, and quantitative analysis and statistics, her work has been covered in the New York Times, The Guardian, the WSJ, TIME, the Huffington Post and The Globe and Mail.

Her experiences as a rising leader in the world of academia - often as the only woman, and youngest person in the role by a magnitude of decades - have given her a unique perspective on jerks at work. She regularly gives talks to global organisations including Capital One, KPMG, Gilead and Pfizer, to help employees improve their relationships.

Praise for Jerks at Work

This book provides the key to working smarter, better and happier, no matter who you're working with.

Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable

Most of your happiness at work is based on personal relationships. Being able to manage those relationships when things get difficult is key to your success at work - and in life. Jerks at Work is a practical and engaging set of tools. Buy it.

Scott Galloway, author of The Four

Reading Jerks at Work is like listening to a real person who is smart, warm, and funny, and who I'd like to have a glass of wine with. That's unusual for any business or self-help author to achieve-from a scientist it's practically a miracle. This book basically has it all. I'm going to make it mandatory reading for everyone on my team. We all need this book.

Heidi Grant, PhD, author of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

Tessa West is a star in the field of social psychology. She's a stellar thinker, writer, and speaker, and Jerks at Work is poised to be a hit. We've all encountered a kiss-up-kick-down coworker, a micromanaging boss, or a workplace liar, and West explains what makes them tick, and how to prevent them from making the majority of our waking lives a nightmare.

Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible

Jerks at Work is a breezy and fun read for anyone who wants happier and healthier relationships at work. Tessa West puts a name to the types of jerks that can make your work life miserable, while also giving practical advice for how to spot them and how to disarm them. This a book you will refer back to again and again.

Annie Duke, author of How to Decide

You never know when a jerk is going to get in the way of your success, but with Jerks at Work you can finally protect yourself. This book is career insurance!

Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Captivate

Tessa West combines easy-to-apply tips with relatable, funny, and shocking stories that will have you taking notes. Anyone regardless of industry or level will benefit from Jerks at Work.

Jonah Berger, author of Contagious and The Catalyst

Step back and rejoice, because Tessa West has done something rare and incredible with Jerks at Work. She has condensed and translated incredible insights from her experience as a psychologist, along with decades of relevant research, to create a fun, funny, and functional handbook for how to use science to make your job suck less whether behind your desk, in a conference room, or working from home.

Dave McRaney, author of You’re Not So Smart

Funny and sharp, with great stories and wise and scientifically grounded advice, Jerks at Work is a life-saver for anyone who has to deal with difficult people at work-which includes just about everyone!

Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and author of The Sweet Spot

It's hard to believe that a book so insightful about how we can flourish at work is also this funny and raw.

Eli J. Finkel, Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University

Tessa West's strategies can help anyone reduce the impact of [a work jerk's] behaviour

The Financial Times

Who doesn't want to know how to manage the other idiots better? Or at least not murder them. This is the office survival guide I wish I'd read when I first started work. It's never too late to be a jerk whisperer. Essential reading.

Viv Groskop, author of How to Own the Room