Successful Escape from an Asshole Boss and the Total Cost of Assholes

I was just
catching-up on emails and was delighted to find this nice little story. I left the writer’s name out, but nothing else
is changed. I give this person a lot of
credit for the courage to get
out of a bad situation. I hope that story
inspires other people to leave asshole infested places. I also am impressed
that the writer told future employers the truth; it might take longer to get a
new job that way, but it also increases the chances that you won’t be hired by
yet another asshole or asshole infested places, as the note says. Here it is:

Hello-

I just
want to let you know that your book, "The No Asshole Rule" played a
huge role in my decision to resign from my job. Tomorrow is my last day and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision. A couple
of months ago, after new management took over, I was prompted to see if there
was anything written about assholes in the workplace.

To put
it bluntly, the new director of operations, seemed to be an asshole. I did not have a good feeling at all and over
the last several weeks my feelings have been confirmed. Your
book gave me such a large dose of optimism while I was immersed in a difficult
situation. It gave me the perspective to
know that there are companies and organizations out there that not only
discourage assholes but strongly implement the ‘no asshole rule’. I realized in reading your book that it was
important to me to hold my standards high as I started to look for a new
position.

I have
had several interviews and in each one, when asked why I was leaving my current
job, I was honest. I said it was
important to me to work somewhere where respect was crucial. Because
I believed so strongly in working in an environment that nurtured my belief system
I gave my notice and couldn’t be more proud.

In a
little over a week I start a new position at a company I am thrilled to be
joining. Thank
you for your writing. Your book has
been a guiding light to me over the
last couple of months.

You can see from
this note how an asshole boss can cost a company a lot of money: First, this
employee spent a lot of time interviewing for a new job (productivity costs),
then left (turnover costs), and I suspect that she is spreading the bad word
about the jerk and company in question — indeed, it sounds like that was part of her interview strategy (reducing the size and quality of the pool willing
to work for the asshole and the company). This is a good example of why organizations don’t realize how high the “total
cost of assholes” ,or TCA, can be so high.

which is easier to use.  P.S. The picture is
from this story
in ValueRich Magazine (go to page 80); the navigation is a bit awkward, but
they have a set of fantastic pictures. Each is are designed to be inserted in
various places in The No Asshole Rule.
They suggest inserting this picture on page 44, where I discuss the Total Cost
of Assholes (TCA). Or here is the pdf, which is easier to use.Download ValueRich-NoAssholeStory.pdf.