The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace
“If I could have given this book to myself 10 years ago, I know I would have made the culture around me better than it is, and it is really good right now! There are SO many great ideas on how to step up as a leader to take your workplace to new heights. Anyone who wants to make a difference in their workplace needs to read this book!” Mike Easton, President and CEO, Argus Industries
This isn’t just about giving jerky work behaviors the boot.
The Jerk-Free Workplace is an inspiring and slightly irreverent roadmap on how to take the lead when you’re not the boss – although you’ll definitely want to slip a copy onto your boss’s desk.
If you want to be happier at work, build a more collaborative team and create a more inspiring workplace, then this is the book for you!
In fact, we think this is a book for EVERYONE! And by everyone, we mean everyone on your team, or better still, everyone in your company!
After all, you can’t do this all by yourself!
“An uplifting reminder that anyone can take the lead at work to create a happier, more collaborative workplace. The Jerk-Free Workplace should be required reading for every employee!” Ron Friedman, Ph.D., author of The Best Place to Work and Decoding Greatness
If your company purchases 25 or more books (keep in mind, this book was written for every employee, at every level), then you’ll have the option of scheduling a virtual Meet the Author Q & A session!
And yes, we do have discounts in place for bulk purchases of the print version, starting at 10 or more copies. Call our office at 403-609-2640 or drop us an email at mike@mikekerr.com with questions about bulk pricing or to place an order for signed copies!
To order now directly from Amazon click here: The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace.
“With supporting research, real-life examples I can easily relate to, and plenty of humor throughout the book, The Jerk-Free Workplace totally resonates with me!” Angela Wood, Durham College and Ontario Tech University
The Table of Contents for The Jerk-Free Workplace
1. Leading Thoughts: Why You Need This Book
First Do No Harm: Don’t Be a Work Jerk!
It’s Not Me! It’s Them!
So, Who Are the Jerks?
Taking the Jerk Out of Work
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Things that Require No Talent that You Can Control
2. Leadership Begins with Attitude
It’s Within Your Control
Can Too Much Positivity be a Negative?
Attitude Boosters
Being Happy on Purpose
3. The Six Mindsets of a Leader
Mindset #1: Leadership Is About Character
Mindset #2: Leadership Is About People, Not Tasks
Mindset #3: Leaders Have a Growth Mindset
Mindset #4: Leaders See the Entire Pie
Mindset #5: Leaders Take Full Responsibility for Their Attitudes and Actions
Mindset #6: Leadership Is About Serving
Being Intentional as a Leader
4. Say What Now? How to Communicate Like a Leader
How You Say It Matters—Talk, Don’t Squawk!
Don’t Be an E-Jerk
Don’t Be Afraid to Just “Phone Moi”
Have More Conversations
Stop Gossip in Its Tracks
Mastering Challenging Conversations
Frame Your Conversations
Receiving Feedback Like a Pro
Speaking Up
5. To Lead Is to Serve: A Service-First Approach to a Rocking Workplace
Why Stand Out from the Herd?
Great Service Starts on the Inside
How to Be a Service-First Leader
6. Leading with Laughter
Positive Humor
Morale-Boosting Traditions and Rituals
Using Humor to Celebrate
Humor as Tension Buster
Humor as a Stress Buster
What About the Fun Suckers?
What About the Office Joker?
It’s Never a Choice Between Laughter and Leading
“The Jerk-Free Workplace is an inspiring, humorous, thought-provoking and practical guide on how anyone can create a more positive workplace environment.” Wendy MacKenzie, Manager, Finance & Corporate Services
“The content in the book is way more powerful than the title implies. It includes very practical and practicable examples of not only how to “not be a jerk” at work, but how to be a better supervisor, teammate, employee, and even person outside of work. It transcends many leadership and workforce philosophies casually, thanks to your humor, and does it concisely.”
Rich Norris, Financial Analyst, Campus Life & Style
Why You Need This Book
The Jerk-Free Workplace is for anyone who wants to be happier at work. If you have no interest in being happier at work you should probably quit your job and start a taco stand in Bora Bora, because there’s a really good chance you’re bumming out your coworkers.
The Jerk-Free Workplace is about front-line leadership – the idea that anyone has the capacity to become a leader at work regardless of what position they hold on the corporate food chain.
What’s the relationship between being a leader at work and being happier? I’m glad you asked! It’s simple. The more intentional you are about being a leader at work, the happier you will be. And, because there’s a chicken and egg relationship here, the happier you are at work, the more effective leader you will become, because no one wants to follow the office grump.
But wait! There’s more!
The happier you are at work, the happier you’ll be in life. After all, work has an enormous impact on this crazy ride called life. In addition to providing you with the financial means to keep a roof over your head and collect ceramic penguins (or whatever personal pursuits you enjoy), your work affects your mental and physical health, self-esteem, identity, and sense of purpose.
Work affects who you socialize with and often where you live – I mean, how else do you explain North Dakota? (For the record, I’m sure North Dakota is a fabulous place. It’s just that as a Canadian I imagine that only about 17 people live there, so I figured I would upset the fewest number of people by picking on you. If that’s not the case, please let me know and I’ll change the reference to South Dakota for the next edition.)
Work also affects your family life and personal relationships. Finally, you may have noticed that work is just a wee bit of a time sucker. Work consumes the biggest part of your waking hours in this short journey. And with so many workplaces shifting to a hybrid workplace model, where more employees than ever are working from home, work has the potential to intrude on your personal life like never before!
So, why wouldn’t you want to be as fulfilled and as happy at work as possible? Why wouldn’t you want to stay out of the rat race and spend more time in the human race? Trust me, no one on their deathbed ever says, “If I had to do it all over again, I’d be more of a fun-sucker, working in a more fun-sucking, soul-sucking workplace.”
Not only will you be happier when you’re more intentional about being a leader, but you’ll be less stressed out too. Your self-esteem will improve. You’ll have a greater sense of purpose and pride at work. Your colleagues (yup, even Bob) and your boss will respect you more and they’ll be more likely to hear your ideas and ask for your input. The more intentional you are about being a leader, the more influence you’ll have, which means you’ll have a far greater chance of being able to affect real change in your workplace.
When you embrace the simple, but oh-so-powerful, idea that anyone can be a leader and that it doesn’t take any special skills or talents to be a leader, you truly can change your entire life. You’ll be more in control of your emotions, attitudes, and responses to challenging situations. You’ll be more in control of your work, your life, and your destiny.
And just imagine how fabulously rocking your workplace could become if everyone on your team reads this book and embraces the idea of taking just a little more responsibility for their attitudes and behaviors at work. (Helpful hint: Ask your boss to purchase a copy of The Jerk-Free Workplace for everyone on your team or, better still, for your entire company!)
I better stop before I break out in song. I hope you enjoy the book and, more importantly, I hope that you enjoy the journey as you continue to grow as a leader at work and create a truly jerk-free workplace.
Finally, as my grandpa used to say, “Never lick a toad before breakfast.” I have no idea what it meant or how it pertains to this book, but I always thought it was good advice worth passing along.
Be sure to come back for The Jerk-Free Workplace Online course coming to a website near you in the fall of 2021!
The Jerk-Free Virtual Workplace
Now that so many of use are working remotely, we need to think about what it takes to NOT be a jerk in the virtual space, and how to step up as a leader in a hybrid workplace culture.
Of course, everything I wrote in the The Jerk-Free Workplace still applies, whether you are in the same room, or across the city or even across the country from one another. The fundamentals still apply!
But, there are of course, enormous challenges working apart from one another. Here are some suggestions on how to foster a jerk-free workplace in a virtual world.
- It means, as a leader, being EXTRA intentional about checking in with people. And remember, if you have teenagers at home, you know there’s a big difference between checking in on someone and checking UP on someone! If you are seen as checking up on someone, you’re going to create some serious issues around trust! But do take the time to be more intentional about checking in on your colleagues. Set aside time to make it a priority. Set a goal to check in “X” number of colleagues per day or week.
- We need to trust each like never before. We need to treat each other as responsible adults and trust that they are doing their work. And no, you don’t know what they are up to every minute of every day, but let me ask you this, “Did you know what they were up to every minute of the day before?” Micromanaging is one of the biggest complaints, de-moralizers, and breakers of trust there is in a healthy, inspiring workplace. So talk about trust, openly. What does it look like in your workplace? What needs to be done for people to both feel trusted and to earn trust?
- We need to communicate more openly and honestly like never before. With new challenges come new uncertainties and fears. You need to be extra intentional about creating a safe environment for everyone to ask for help when they need it, to express their concerns about how things are working (or aren’t working).
- Be aware that when you are working in a hybrid workplace, where some employees are working from home, while some are at the office, jealousies can arise and accusations of unfair treatment might boil up to the surface. The “officers” working in your office might resent the fact that they don’t have the ability to work from home and spend less time with their families and more time commuting! The “homers” working from home might feel excluded, less valued and as though they aren’t kept fully into the loop. The old saying, out of sight, out of mind” might concern them! Again, talk about these concerns openly. Ensure everyone understands the rational for some positions requiring an office present, while other positions, not so much. And explain that there is a fundamental difference between fairness and equality.
- Set ground rules for how you communicate and when you communicate. Feeling tethered to your smart phone 24/7 can be a huge source of stress and anxiety. Set clear expectations around communication. How do people prefer to communicate. Is text okay or just email? If someone send an email on the weekend is it okay to wait until Monday to respond? What about emails after normal working hours? How quickly are people expected to respond to emails?
- As I suggest in the book, share or do your own pet peeve surveys to highlight behaviors that might be deemed as “jerkish” in the virtual world. My own survey revealed some common, and well, not-so-common complaints:
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- Never responding to emails! EVER! Clipping fingernails, or worse toenails during a virtual video meeting!
- Chronic background noise on phone or video calls without ever muting oneself.
- Colleagues who are clearly multitasking during a video meeting and not really present. We can see you typing!! And we can hear you typing!
- Seriously, just because you are working from home and it’s casual Friday, doesn’t mean pants are optional!
- Not making an effort to make it look like you’ve cleaned up your virtual background.
- Not making an effort to get the lighting right. We’re not sharing ghost stories!
- Yes, we really can tell you’re sitting in your bathroom!
- Not showing up on time to virtual meetings. Not finding the link as an excuse gets old…REALLY fast!
- Talking about things that happened at the office as though the remote employees were there…or already knew about it. No, we didn’t!
- We love pets…and small children…but not when they become a a five minute distraction!
- When meeting across time zone, think about people who don’t live “in the center of the universe” when scheduling and communicating times!
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For More Ideas!
For more than 120 ideas on how to connect with virtual teams and employees and add more fun to your hybrid/remote workplace culture, hop on over to Inspiring Virtual Teams!
And for a steady stream of humor, ideas and inspiration in your workplace be sure to sign up for my weekly e-newsletter Inspiring Workplaces
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