Job Therapy and Jerks at Work

A psychologist's guide to finding your most fulfilling job yet When we're unhappy in our jobs, we often attribute our frustration to a bad manager, boring tasks, and stressful workloads. But our dissatisfaction at work usually stems from a deeper psychological need that's not being met at work, like not getting the recognition you deserve. In Job Therapy, Dr. Tessa West helps you figure out the real reason you're unhappy and shows you how to find a new position in which you'll thrive, whether in a different role, company, or new industry altogether. Through her research interviewing thousands of people who have recently switched jobs or undergone career changes, she found there are five common sources of career frustration:

• having an identity crisis - does your sense of self no longer match your job?
• you've drifted-apart - do you no longer recognize the job you once loved?
• you're torn between places - are you taking on too many roles at work, switching tasks too often, or stuck between two paths?
• you're the runner up - do you always feel like you keep coming in second?
• you're the underappreciated star - are you crushing it at work, but the people around you aren't recognizing your performance?

Dr. West will guide you through a working week audit to help identify your unique psychological stressors and use that knowledge to understand what you want your future career to look like. Presenting cutting-edge insights on networking and hiring, from Dr. West's interviews with over 1,500 professional recruiters, Job Therapy will help you land your best role yet - one that guarantees happiness for years to come.

A practical and hilarious guide to getting difficult people off your back, for anyone pulling their hair out over an irritating colleague who's not technically breaking any rules

From open floor plans and Zoom calls to Slack channels, the workplace has changed a lot over the years. But there's one thing that never changes: you'll always encounter jerks. Jerks at Work is the definitive guide to dealing with--and ultimately breaking free from--the overbearing bosses, irritating coworkers, and all-around difficult people who make work and life miserable. Social psychologist Tessa West has spent years leveraging science to help people solve interpersonal conflicts in the workplace. What she discovered is that most of our go-to tactics don't work because they fail to address the specific motivations that drive bad behavior. In this book, she takes you on a rollicking deep dive of the seven jerks you're most likely to encounter at the office, drawing on decades of original research to expose their inner workings and weak points--and ultimately deliver an effective game plan for stopping each type before they take you down with them. Jerks at Work is packed with everyday examples and clever strategies, such as how to:
- Stop a Bulldozer from gaining influence by making sure they're not the first to speak up in meetings
- Report a Kiss Up/Kick Downer to a manager who idolizes them without looking like the bad guy
- Protect your high-achieving team from Free Riders without stifling collaboration
- Use a Gaslighter's tactics to beat them at their own game For anyone who's said "I can't stand that jerk!" more times than they'd like to admit, Jerks at Work is the ultimate playbook you wish you didn't need but will always turn to.