Being a Jerk at Work - Worth An Extra Lawsuit or Two?

You've undoubtedly known plenty of jerks at work.  Think about your multiple encounters with that type of person you've had over your career.  When mixing it up with a jerk in the workplace, you go through a normal cycle - you get mad, then pledge to stick it to them when you get the chance, then you cool down and resort to being the person you are - a logical professional who understands you are a bigger person than the jerk in question.

So you don't stick it to the jerk.  That probably reinforces the jerk's behavior, but you're a bigger person.  That's good.

Jerks are lucky that way.  Sometimes, though, the jerk keeps pushing and develops such a personal brand for being an outlandish cretin that someone gets fed up, channels Howard Beale from Network, and trys to stick it to the jerk.

Being an uber-jerk can cost you an extra lawsuit or two.

Case in point - Sam Zell.  Sam, your employees that you've been bullying are mad as hell and apparently ready to try to bring you down.  The rundown from the Wall Street Journal:

"One current and five former Tribune Co. employees accused the company and Chief Executive Sam Zell in a lawsuit Tuesday of mismanaging the newspaper-and-television concern, the latest sign of worker protest against Mr. Zell's oversight.

The lawsuit, filed in a Los Angeles federal court, alleges Tribune and Mr. Zell have failed to uphold their fiduciary duty to the company's employee stock-ownership plan, Tribune's majority owner. The lawsuit also claims Mr. Zell and other Tribune officials have improperly raided worker pension funds.

"Zell and his accessories threaten to destroy the Tribune Company and its assets," the lawsuit says. "They are doing so illegally, without consideration for the employee-owners."

In December, Mr. Zell led an $8.2 billion buyout with an unusual twist: The stock plan, known as an ESOP, became the majority owner, while Mr. Zell invested about $315 million in exchange for a promissory note and warrants to buy 40% of the company. The deal weighed down Tribune with nearly $13 billion in debt, but the ESOP structure allowed Tribune to avoid most federal income taxes.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, encapsulates months of employee frustration about Mr. Zell and the buyout deal. As deteriorating newspaper advertising and the deal's debt weigh on Tribune, Mr. Zell has slashed employee rolls and pared news pages at company papers. He has invested in other areas of the company, including Tribune's local television stations."

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out, and also to see if the move emboldens others to lash out at Zell for what they consider to be a culture of intimidation and bullying. 

Comments

[Chris - Manager's Sandbox]

This kind of reminds me of "The No Asshole Rule" (http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/the_no_asshole_.html).

In my experience, being a jerk at work never pays in the long run. You're going to get more from people by being nurturing and supportive than bullying and controlling any day.

- Chris

[Wally Bock]

Nice post, Kris. I think more managers are terrified of lawsuits than any other thing, including unproductive behavior.

To Chris' point. I agree that, most of the time most of the time being a jerk doesn't pay in the long run. But in the short run and the medium run that jerk can crush the productivity out of talented people and send others running for the hills.