Work Matters

Tag: ARSE

  • The Narcissistic Personality Quiz

    I sent out a tweet the other day about a study showing that men who score high on a narcissism test appear to experience more stress than those who score low (but not narcissistic women).  Stress was measured by "cortisol levels,"   a hormone that  "signals the level of activation of the body’s key stress response system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis." 

    You can see a report about study here.  I thought the most interesting part was the link to the 40 item Narcissistic Personality Quiz, which is based on the measure in this paper: Raskin, R. & Terry, H. (1988). A Principal-Components Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Further Evidence of Its Construct Validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5). Note that Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is one of the best and most rigorous psychology journals, so the source is excellent.

    Try taking the quiz. I just did and scored an "8,' which suggests a low level of narcissism.  I confess, however, that I am wondering if my low score was a reflection of my lack of narcissism or of my knowledge of the narcissism literature in concert with a bit of self-delusion.  I also confess that I completed it a second time as if I were one especially narcissistic boss that I once worked with.  That boss (in my opinion) earns a 32 — a very high score as above 20 indicates narcissism.  The quiz omits one thing this person did which indicates narcissism:  It was amazing how, no matter what the topic, how within 3 minutes, every conversation with that boss always became conversation about what a successful and impressive person he was and all the people who admired him and his work. 

     If you really are the mood for self-assessment, you can take both this quiz and the (less scientific) Asshole Rating Self-Exam or ARSE.   That way you can find out if you are a narcissist, a certified asshole, or both!

    Enjoy.

  • The Power of Escaping a Vile Workplace: His ARSE Score Dropped from 12 to 2

    One of the main themes in The No Asshole Rule is that, if you work with a bunch of mean-spirited creeps, it is difficult to avoid catching these "adult cooties."  There are at least two reasons this happens.  The first is that a pile of studies show that emotions and behavior patterns are remarkably contagious — that without realizing it, we mimic the way that people around us act.  The second reason is self-preservation: If you work with a bunch of nasty creeps who put you down all the time, treat you as if you are invisible, bad-mouth you, and tease you in hostile ways, sometimes the only way to protect yourself (for better or worse) is to return fire.   These points are supported by academic research, especially on emotional contagion.

    Yet it is always fascinating to see how this stuff plays out in the real world. I got an intriguing email the other day from a fellow (who had written me a second time) to report a big drop in his ARSE (Asshole Rating Self-Exam) score after leaving an asshole-infested workplace and moving to a civilized one.  Here is his email, with names of companies and people removed:

    Hi Bob, I sent you an email several years back (I believe around March 2008) when I left a horribly poisonous company after less than 3 months of employment.

    Since then I have started with [an energy company].  Very different environment. It's not Shangri-la but it's definitely a more positive workplace.

    When I was working for [the horribly poisonous company ] I had taken the ARSE exam and scored a 12 (after answering honestly). Today, I retook the test (answering honestly again) and scored a 2. I've sent the test to others in my work group and asked them to give me their test scores. The highest score was a 6.

    I also find myself much more productive and spend most of my time working on how to achieve the group's goals instead of how to protect myself.

    This story also reinforces a point I make over and over again on this blog and  other places that I write and speak: If you are in an asshole-infested work group or organization, the best thing you can do is to get out as fast as you can.  Yes, there are ways to limit the damage, fight back, and to make changes — but they don't always work, and even when they do, you can suffer a lot of damage in the process.

    Note, for readers who may not know, the ARSE, or Asshole Rating Self-Exam, is a 24 item self-test that you can take to determine if you are a certified asshole, a "borderline" case, or not an asshole at all.  Many people also complete with someone else in mind, such as a boss or co-worker.  At last count, it had been completed by just 250,000 people.

    P.S. This is a revised version of a post that first appeared here early this year.  I thought it was a good time to reprint it as it is related to the "bad apple" story that was published in Sunday's New York Times.  In particular, this post reinforces  the importance of escaping from a vile workplace.

  • The No Asshole Rule Paperback is Shipping — with “On Being the Asshole Guy”

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    Amazon is already shipping the paperback edition of The No Asshole Rule; the official release is September 1 but they are moving a bit ahead of schedule.  I had a lot of fun writing the new chapter called "On Being the Asshole Guy."  It considers a bunch of things that I learned from writing a book that provoked such strong and often surprising reactions. The chapter starts with this paragraph:

    "I didn’t plan it.  I never wanted it.  I didn’t believe it at first.  And it still makes me squirm.  But I accept it now much as I accept being a
    56-year-old balding white male:  I am the asshole guy.  Regardless of anything I ever wrote or said
    about management, or ever will, I am condemned to be that guy for the rest of
    my life.    "

    The sections in the chapterinclude: "The Title is Useful, Powerful, and Dangerous," "Be Slow to Label Others as Assholes, But Quick to Label Yourself," "Subtle,Skilled, and Strategic Assholes are Especially Insidious," "Many Leaders and Organizations Use the Rule — and it Works," "The Book Touched a Nerve About Bad Bosses," and  "Eliminate the Negative First."

    Amazon is charging less the ten bucks for it. So if you've been waiting for the paperback to buy the book, or for that special friend or enemy, the time is here. And don't forget about the ARSE — Asshole Rating Self-Exam.  A self-test to see if you are a certified asshole (or not).  Close to 250,000 people have already completed it.

    P.S. Amazon has the old cover up but will be fixing that soon.

  • His ARSE Score Dropped from 12 to 2: More Evidence That Asshole Poisoning is Contagious

    One of the main themes in The No Asshole Rule is that, if you work with a bunch of mean-spirited creeps, it is very difficult to avoid catching these "adult cooties."  There are at least two reasons this happens.  The first is that a pile of studies show that emotions and behavior patterns are remarkably contagious — that without realizing it, we mimic the way that people around us act.  The second reason is self-preservation: If you work with a bunch of nasty creeps who put you down all the time, treat you as if you are invisible, bad-mouth you, and tease you in hostile ways, sometimes the only way to protect yourself (for better or worse) is to return fire.   These points are supported by academic research, especially the one about emotional contagion.

    Yet it is always fascinating to see how this stuff plays out in the real world. I got an intriguing email the other day from a fellow (who had written me a second time) to report a big drop in his ARSE (Asshole Rating Self-Exam) score after leaving an asshole-infested workplace and moving to a civilized one.  Here is his email, with names of companies and people removed:

    Hi Bob,
    I sent you
    an email several years back (I believe around March 2008) when I left a
    horribly poisonous company after less than 3 months of employment.

    Since then I
    have started with [an energy company].  Very different environment. It's not
    Shangri-la but it's definitely a more positive workplace.

    When I was
    working for [the horribly poisonous company ] I had taken the ARSE exam and scored a 12 (after answering
    honestly). Today, I retook the test (answering honestly again) and scored a 2.
    I've sent the test to others in my work group and asked them to give me their
    test scores. The highest score was a 6.


    I also find
    myself much more productive and spend most of my time working on how to achieve
    the group's goals instead of how to protect mysel    f    .

    This story also reinforces a point I make over and over again on this blog and every other place I write and speak: If you are in an asshole-infested work group or organization, the best thing you can do is to get out as fast as you can.  Yes, there are ways to limit the damage, fight back, and to make changes — but they don't always work, and even when they do, you can suffer a lot of damage in the process.