Since The No Asshole Rule was published in paperback a couple months back, the inflow of asshole stories into my inbox has been on the upswing. I am getting at least three a day lately, and last week, I got ten one day. I also expect an upswing next week, as I have a piece coming out in The New York Times business section this Sunday called "When Bad Apples Infect The Tree. " I only share the most striking and instructive of such stories here; I got one Wednesday that certainly qualifies. The woman who wrote me works for a guy who clearly is a candidate for bosshole of the year. I am leaving out some parts of the email for length and also to protect her identity. Consider this excerpt from a woman who finally took a job after searching for over a year:
I was kind of desperate and took this job even though my gut said, "not a good idea." You should always follow your gut. I have almost walked out several times. He lies about my benefits and salary. He stated one salary and then told me once I started that the salary he quoted included potential bonus. Of course, there is not going to be any bonus.
I don't get a lunch hour, and have to work at my desk or he calls me or texts me all the time. In this year's time I took some time during lunch twice to go to doctor's appointments and he complained that I needed to not go so much as he was feeling taken advantage of. Of course, his asking me to stop off at the grocery store and buy milk for him and his family and bring it to him (he was working at home) since it was on my way doesn't constitute being taken advantage of.
Needless to say, he has been a nightmare. He has even texted me in the middle of the night demanding a report be redone immediately, and I actually did it. Complete and total asshole. And he's an asshole in his personal life. His son had a birthday party and they hired a clown. Well, he wasn't happy with the clown so he and his wife sued the clown to get their money back. Seriously, this guy make millions a year and he sues a clown???
She added "I've got to get away from asshole. He's is like a vampire, sucks the joy out of life."
No kidding. I hope she finds a better job with a better boss as soon as possible. I was careful to advise her, however, to resist the temptation to storm out, to tell her boss to take this job and shove it, as it is a lot easier to find a new job when you already have one.