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[athena1]

http://chronicle.com/article/Working-With-Jerks/123673/

[athena1]

I have just come to a point in my life where I keep interactions with toxic people to a minimum. Easier in my personal life, where I can generally cut someone completely off. Haven't quite figured out how to manage it at work. It does help me to recognize jerks for what they are and not take it personally.

[antiphon1]

Learning to say "No" in a non aggressive manner is a valuable skill.  Most jerks are also lazy, manipulators who want someone else to do the heavy lifting in life.  Jerkiness is the notion that someone else should do whatever it is that the person doesn't want to do.  Declining the honor of picking up the slack causes the jerk to either become aggressive or pout thus making the decliner uncomfortable enough to do the work.  Therefore, the power to change the expected outcome lies at the initial contact.  Saying "No" the first time saves one looking like a jerk when the inevitable meltdown occurs. 

[lost_angeleno]

Jerks don't want to work with people who keep digging for the truth, holding up hypocrisy, and challenging the stupid, shortsighted policies of self-serving administrators.  By doing good, you will cause them to cut you out of their lives.  Then you can have the good life you want to have.

[kaysixteen]

Jerks are all around, as female science professor writes, but she is absolutely correct to decry the abuse of power that some jerks engage in.  Hopefully there is nowadays a zero tolerance policy for such abuse of nontenured staff, but perhaps I am fooling myself.