Assholes: A Probing Examination

I agree that firing assholes improves a company's morale and environment, but sadly there is little evidence that it actually help a company's business.

And you can set up processes to limit harm from untrained or malicious people. For some reason this doesn't seem to be widely done when it comes to internal "asshole" behavior.

Lots of companies require code reviews before software gets deployed or require two signatures on a company check. But they'll have freeform meetings where anyone can speak next if they manage to grab the "floor" and won't maintain records to prevent someone from claiming undue credit for an accomplishment.

One thing I realize as I read this is that, I’ve definitely engaged in certain ‘asshole behaviors’ at times. It’s been a long challenge to become more socially skilled and handle pressure/emotions better, but a lot of bad habits linger, I think.

The worst habit of which is definitely complaining about coworkers to other coworkers. Not in a hateful or personal way, but sometimes when I get frustrated by something someone does, I vent to someone unrelated instead of confronting the other person.

Another terrible habit that I had in the past was a tendency to respond while still fuming, which never ends well; usually it ends in both sides of an argument escalating while others grab the popcorn.

I hope I make enough effort to not be the kind of asshole that needs to be flushed out of an org, but similarly hopefully it’s not just me that is imperfect at the art of not being an asshole.