Be nice or leave - thank you

I've got a sign at work saying "BE NICE OR LEAVE THANK YOU". I've put it so it's visible when you enter my office, and even though it's just a "fun" sign ... I mean every word!!

In short, I absolutely HATE when people behave like assholes at work. At times, it seems as if an environment of competition, focus on individual performances and bottom lines almost encourages behavior that in "normal life" would be considered rude or even psychopathic. And that goes for behavior among colleagues as well as the way management treats employees.

Assholes comes in many shapes and sizes, and I think we've all met one or two during our work life. Nevertheless, here are some traits to keep an eye on at work (from Bob Sutton):

• Personal insults
• Invading one’s “personal territory”
• Uninvited physical contact
• Threats and intimidation, both verbal and nonverbal
• “Sarcastic jokes” and “teasing” used as insult delivery systems
• Withering e-mail flames
• Status slaps intended to humiliate their victims
• Public shaming or “status degradation” rituals
• Rude interruptions
• Two-faced attacks
• Dirty looks
• Treating people as if they are invisible

My point is, that this type of asshole behavior is not only unnecessary, rude and annoying - it is also downright dumb and expensive for the business! Sutton coined the term TCA (Total Cost of Assholes) to describe the financial consequences of not stopping assholes at work. It’s an economic analysis of what it costs to employ destructive people, for example:

Time spent appeasing, calming, counseling or appeasing assholes

Time spent “cooling out” employees who are vistimized

Time spent reorganizing departments and teams so that assholes do less damage

Anger management and other training to reform assholes

Legal costs for inside and outside counsel

Settlement fees and successful litigation by victims

Settlement fess and successful litigation by alleged assholes (especially wrongful-termination cases)

Compensation for internal and external consultants, executive coaches, and therapists

Health insurance costs

Therefore: BE NICE OR LEAVE - THANK YOU!!!