Some folk emailed me wondering whether my No Asshole Rule post was some sort of a crude joke. Anything but.
The BBC today published a report about Deutsche Bank Group Services (UK) Ltd where a former employee was bullied to the point of experiencing crippling mental health problems. The High Court awarded £800,000 in damages. That’s the immediate cost of employing Assholes.
Think of the cost to reputation, the ability to make future hires, the amount of retraining necessary. But above everything, why didn’t Deutsche simply fire the Assholes? If they did it wasn’t reported. Worse still, it is claimed such behaviour is endemic in the City.
One useful thing to come out of it. We have a legal judgment that describes the actions of Assholes in terms of which I’m sure Bob Sutton would approve:
“[a] relentless campaign of mean and spiteful behaviour designed to cause her distress”.
Who’s telling me ethics don’t matter? Phooey.
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