{"id":418916,"date":"2022-03-20T14:37:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T11:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/"},"modified":"2022-03-20T14:37:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T11:37:52","slug":"how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to outsmart jerks at work"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e168409ec\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e168409ec\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_outsmart_jerks_at_work%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to outsmart jerks at work&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/#Dont_try_to_beat_them_alone\" >Don\u2019t try to beat them alone<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/#Dont_avoid_confronting_your_jerk\" >Don\u2019t avoid confronting your jerk<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/#Beware_the_remote_jerk\" >Beware the remote jerk<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/#Sometimes_jerks_are_clients\" >Sometimes jerks are clients<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_outsmart_jerks_at_work%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to outsmart jerks at work&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Tessa West, 40, an associate professor of psychology at New York University, can trace her interest in studying workplace behavior to a college job. Little did she know then, but this experience would influence her career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first time I encountered a cunning, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a>ly savvy jerk was at a high-end retail job selling shoes to rich guys in Southern California,\u201d she said. \u201cRetail is the perfect breeding ground for jerks at work. It\u2019s commission-based, so you won\u2019t make any money unless you learn how to outcompete your co-workers for customers, and there are no rules about when you get to claim a customer as \u2018yours.\u2019 Dave \u2014 my first true jerk at work \u2014 thrived in this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>West shared that he always won such \u201cbackroom battles\u201d to poach customers from other salespeople. \u201cHe was damn good at his job, so every manager loved him,\u201d said West. \u201cAnd why wouldn\u2019t they? Their promotions were tied to total sales of their team, and with Dave on board, the \u2018team\u2019 was killing it. At the same time as I was working this job, I was working with Wendy Mendes while I was an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara studying the dynamics of awkward social interactions \u2014 work that set the foundation for my academic career.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/at-work-2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682\" alt=\"Tessa West\" class=\"wp-image-21579126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/at-work-2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/at-work-2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/at-work-2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/at-work-2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Tessa West is a 40-year-old associate professor of psychology at New York University.<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Karma came around for Dave, too: He\u2019s the inspiration for a chapter in West\u2019s new book, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/652757\/jerks-at-work-by-tessa-west\/\">\u201cJerks at Work\u201d (Portfolio\/Penguin Random House).<\/a><\/p>\n<p>These days, West is busy with various pursuits at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/tessawestlab.hosting.nyu.edu\/\">NYU\u2019s West Interpersonal Perception Lab,<\/a> where she and her team study how people communicate with each other.<br \/>\u201cWe focus on the complicated, hard-to-navigate stuff, like how to negotiate with someone without offending them, or how to give feedback to someone who might not want it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe measure behaviors and physiological responses, like blood pressure and heart rate, which gives us a window into what people are feeling but aren\u2019t necessarily showing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-nypost-small-post\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"231\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231\" alt=\"Tessa West\" class=\"wp-image-21579123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=462 462w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=347 346w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=116 115w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa8TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\"\/><figcaption>West\u2019s team works on helping people with how to negotiate with someone without offending them along with other ways to communicate in the workplace. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>West and her colleagues may bring in three or so research participants to the lab, \u201chook them up to a bunch of equipment,\u201d and have them engage in everyday things like partaking in getting-acquainted conversations, playing <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s or making decisions together. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of monitoring people from separate rooms to make sure things run smoothly \u2014 think a less stylized version of the control room in \u2018West World,\u2019\u2009\u201d said West.<\/p>\n<p>West\u2019s new book was conceived in the middle of a workplace debacle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was organizing an office move,\u201d she said. \u201cIt made people at work act crazy, including me. People resisted, some cried. At first, I tried \u2018reasoned arguments.\u2019 I shoved blueprints down their throats and promised better lighting. When that failed, I got downright belligerent, yelling at them for acting like irrational grandparents who refused to leave their rickety old homes. I learned as I was researching this book that I was trying to fight a battle in meetings that needed to be fought outside of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>West then \u201cspent a lot of time researching the power of our relationships with other people in solving our jerk-at-work problems.<\/p>\n<p>West has tried-and-true strategies for conquering a \u201clow-level a**hole,\u201d as she\u2019s taken to calling them. (And, never overlook the fact that sometimes you might be filling that role.) Here are three:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dont_try_to_beat_them_alone\"><\/span><strong>Don\u2019t try to beat them alone<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cYou need to find allies at work, and I don\u2019t mean close friends to whom you complain,\u201d said West. Instead, West encourages you to think about your colleagues who are at arm\u2019s length, \u201cwho are outside of your usual network, and who can connect you with new people who either know how to convince your boss to care, or are in touch with other victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dont_avoid_confronting_your_jerk\"><\/span><strong>Don\u2019t avoid confronting your jerk<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But \u2014 confront carefully. And early. You want to nip any issues in the bud before they spiral out of control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t lead with the problem behavior or how it makes you feel. Instead, lead with something you would like them to do more of,\u201d West suggested, conceding that this can sometimes feel like squeezing water out of a rock. \u201cWhen you do complain, focus on specific behaviors and avoid <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>izations. Lastly, ask for some feedback yourself. If it feels like a two-way street, your jerk will be less defensive.\u201d And, regardless of where an individual is on the workplace totem pole, the same advice <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lies.<\/p>\n<p>Put yourself in your boss\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n<p>Before you take an issue to your boss, gauge how things may appear from their perspective. \u201cThere\u2019s a good chance your jerk has a talent or two that your boss appreciates, and recognizing these talents is the first step to getting on the same wavelength as your boss \u2014 and quite honestly, from preventing you from looking like a petty, jealous complainer,\u201d said West. \u201cAlso, most bosses are shockingly unaware of how many seemingly lovely people are jerks when they aren\u2019t around.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Beware_the_remote_jerk\"><\/span><strong>Beware the remote jerk<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-nypost-small-post\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"231\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231\" alt=\"Tessa West\" class=\"wp-image-21579124\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=462 462w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=347 346w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=116 115w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa9TB.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\"\/><figcaption>West notes that some work jerks may be seemingly lovely when the boss isn\u2019t around. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Tamara Beckwith<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In these strange times, there\u2019s a good chance your \u201coffice\u201d interactions with said low-level misfits and everyone else are happening over the phone, Zoom, Slack and e-mail while you work from home. When we work remotely, West says two main things are lost.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne, a lot of the work we do becomes invisible \u2014 no longer do our colleagues see us doing things like helping someone learn the new software program, or giving them advice on how to level up their presentation,\u201d she said. \u201cTwo, our social networks shrink. Broad networks are key to getting ahead at work; so too is having \u2018informal work\u2019 seen and appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>West believes if we recognize that we\u2019re missing out on these two things, and work harder to repair them, we all benefit.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sometimes_jerks_are_clients\"><\/span><strong>Sometimes jerks are clients<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re juggling the demands of several clients, West stressed the importance of getting as much feedback and advice as possible from people who succeeded at the thing you are trying to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind your network of people, identify those who are kick-ass on the job and create a network of feedback givers and askers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you work for TaskRabbit and you wish more people would select you to build their Ikea furniture, or you\u2019re a freelance writer, and you need advice on how to get an editor to respond to your pitches, the advice is the same. It won\u2019t feel good at first \u2014 I cried more than once \u2014but it works!\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/20\/how-to-outsmart-jerks-at-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to outsmart jerks at work&#8221; Tessa West, 40, an associate professor of psychology at New York University, can trace her interest in studying workplace behavior to a college job. Little did she know then, but this experience would influence her career. \u201cThe first time I encountered a cunning, socially savvy jerk was at a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":418917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/022422Tessa2TB.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[127007,71736,80100,71737,87156],"class_list":["post-418916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-3-20-22","tag-at-work","tag-bosses","tag-career-advice","tag-office-etiquette"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}