The Rise And Fall Of The Workplace Jerk

Very interesting article over at the Wall Street Journal about the decline of jerks in the workplace.

Unfortunately, what's left out is how jerks got into the workplace in the first instance, as well as who the real jerks are.

Apparently, their decline is attributable to the fact that "first-class nitwits make mouth-watering targets for human resource officers with layoff quotas". But wasn't their rise equally so attributable? If it weren't for the collectivists in "human resources"* and their "I'm OK; you're OK" crap, the jerks would never be there in the first place. It's only because everyone else was forced to put up with them that they lasted as long as they have.

(*Remember when it was called "Personnel" and they actually contributed to the something worthwhile to the company? Nowadays, the "human resources" people are the walking embodiment of Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy (q.v.).)

Mr. Chips and The Old Sarge could tell a lot about weirdos, whiners, control freaks, et al in the workplace. Worst of all, no one had the guts to rehabilitate or remove the offenders. Maybe the sour economy is doing what people refused to do. Then again, maybe not. Too many workplace jerks are too well connected.