McKinsey Classics: Building the civilized workplace

McKinsey Classics | September 2017

Workplace jerks who use disrespect and intimidation to advance themselves exact a high toll: only the loudest voices break through; other ideas are crowded out; tension is high, productivity low. Employees first resign themselves to the nastiness and eventually resign altogether from these companies, which may also endure higher client churn, damaged reputations, and diminished investor confidence. One company even calculated its “total cost of jerks” (TCJ): a star sales rep generated $160,000 in extra expenses to pay for assistants he trashed, overtime, legal costs, and anger-management classes. Yet there’s good news, too: leaders can create a workplace without demeaning behavior. Read Stanford professor Bob Sutton’s classic 2007 article “Building the civilized workplace” to learn how. Or, if you think you might be part of the problem, read his follow-up, published last week, “Memo to the CEO: Are you the source of workplace dysfunction?”

Promote civility at work

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