We’ve all worked for or with an asshole. It’s awkward - we don’t like it, and most of the time we don’t know how to handle it. Is it worth putting up with an asshole boss - or is it time to cut your losses and leave? Learn about best practices to avoid working with or becoming a toxic asshole.

Many aspects of human behavior are contagious in a sense. You’re more likely to laugh at something if others around you are also laughing. The same can be said about being an asshole. If your boss is an asshole, they are more likely to hire others onto their teams that perpetuate asshole behaviors. This leads to toxic work environments where amazing talent leaves, or suffer from physical and psychological illness. So - how do we identify true assholes from someone that is just having an off day? What can we do about assholes in our work environment, can it be changed or is it time to leave? What can we do if we notice that we are becoming the kind of asshole we always despised? Using suggestions directly backed by scientific research across multiple countries, we can learn how to handle these situations and become more self-aware to prevent this type of behavior from continuing in the workplace. This is highly relevant to the tech industry, due to the fact that your jobs require high levels of creativity and cognitive processing, which are both stifled by working in asshole ridden work places.