Editorial Review:
In the authors' random poll of 1,000 working people, 80 percent said that a single coworker contributed significant stress to their workday. Everyone has worked with someone "difficult" - someone who could always be trusted to blow up or say or do something provoking or inappropriate. Psychologists Alan Cavaiola and Neil Lavender have studied this much-discussed but rarely addressed area. Their research showed that the conventional wisdom that some problem workers are "just nuts" was right: a sizeable number of such employees do in fact have full-fledged personality disorders. In Toxic Coworkers, they pinpoint a variety of personality traits and disorders, showing how they come about and offering effective strategies for coping with them. The authors cover the range of familiar types, from hyperactives, histrionics, and sociopaths to narcissists and obsessive-compulsives and provide concrete techniques for surviving them.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Book's usefulness extends beyond the authors' intent!  2008-08-06
I knew my co-manager was "crazy" and now thanks to "Toxic Coworkers" I also know how to make the best of the situation. This book is well-organized and packed with useful information and advice. The layman language and insightful anecdotes used by the authors help make it easy to understand and interesting. I also feel that the book's usefulness goes beyond the authors' intent. I believe that most people have some of the traits that are found in people with Personality Disorders, just in lesser, more rational and more functional degrees; and that the same advice the authors give for dealing with toxics in the workplace could be applied when dealing with more "normal" types at work or anywhere. For instance, the authors' advice on emphasizing the positives in evaluations when dealing with certain personality disorders would seem to be a productive way to handle all employees, as well as students, but especially those with lower self-esteem. While the authors clearly accomplish their goal of writing a book that helps people deal with toxic disorders in their workplace, they have also created a great reference book for dealing with all people, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving his interactions with others.
Excellent "Handbook" for navigating toxic personalities 2008-06-30
"Toxic Coworkers" was an easy read, and it delivers what the cover promises: "How to Deal with Dysfunctional People." Covering all the major players- all 10 of the personality disorders described by the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), it is an excellent resource for identifying exactly what type of problematic personality you might be dealing with, allowing the reader to then focus their search for additional literature pertaining to the specific personality disorder at hand.
Not only do the authors provide realistic and DO-ABLE solutions and strategies, their advice is organized by both which disorder you are dealing with, as well as the reader's relationship with the personality-disordered individual. (i.e. Boss/Administrator, Coworker, or Subordinate.) Additionally the book can be used as a guide for dealing with other toxic personalities in your life- a "parent" can substitute for the boss, a sibling or neighbor for "coworker", or a child for the "subordinate."
If you already know which disorder you are up against, you can jump to the appropriate chapter and start learning right away. I was able to start implementing solutions for dealing with a personality-disordered relative the same day!
This publisher needs to fire the editors of this book, as there were many small typos and grammatical errors, but don't judge the book on this alone. I am an educated adult with a background in scientific research, and found the authors to back up their ideas with solid information and strategies... that are already proving successful for me.
As a side-note, if you are seeking information about sociopaths (Antisocial Personality Disorder), I highly recommend this book along with The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. If you are seeking help in dealing with a Narcissistic personality, I again highly recommend both this book, along with Joan Lackhar's How to Talk to a Narcissist. Both Stout and Lackhar offer understandable insight and sound advice backed by strong research and building on both accepted literature from experts who have come before them the past 50 years, as well as more recently discovered data.
Good Information Presented In An Organized Manner  2007-11-21
The book description gives a good, succinct overview of what's in the book so I am going to focus my review on how well the authors presented the material.
The book is structured very well. The first two chapters give you the motivation for the book and an overview of the material to come respectively. Both of these set the stage well for the chapters to come. Chapters three through 12 are each dedicated to a different personality disorder, and they follow the same basic formula:
* Illustration/anecdote giving an example of how a person with the particular disorder may behave
* The official symptoms of the disorders
* Suggestions for how to relate to a manager, co-worker, or subordinate who has the disorder
The final chapter discusses anxiety, depression, addiction, and ADHD at a high level; however, each of these are worthy of separate dedicated book.
I have no psychological training so not all of the material sunk in after the first reading. Some of the information is also a bit scary. However, I also feel much better equipped to handle toxic people in the workplace too. While it would be useful to anyone in the workforce, I would recommend it the most to those in management positions.
Toxic Coworkers: How to Deal with Dysfunctional People on the Job 2007-08-23
This book has really helped by putting a title to the different people I work with and for and where my frustration comes from. Also it has assisted me in dealing with the different disfunctions of personalities of the people with whom I spend most of my days with. I would recommend this book.
Dealing with dysfunctional workers 2007-08-05
This is an interesting little book. It identifies some basic personality disorders and then speculates on how one might deal with such folks to limit the damage that they might do.
What is a personality disorder? The authors note that (page 4) "Personality disorders are long-standing disturbances in personality that usually begin in late adolescence and continue until adulthood." If the case is not too bad, such workers can be productive; if the disorder is pronounced, then real problems can occur in the workplace.
The disorders include the following: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, borderline, obsessive compulsive, avoidant, dependent, and passive aggressive.
For each, the disorder is described and examples provided. There is also discussion of how one might deal with either superiors or coworkers or subordinates who have one or another of the disorders. Some suggestions appear useful, others seem a little weak.
All in all, an interesting volume to read. See if you can identify any disorders in your workplace!
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