Do Nice Guys Finish First or Last?
Wednesday November 1, 2006
In the November 3rd issue of The Week there is a short article about two new books about the workplace: The Kindness Revolution by Ed Horrell (Buy Direct) and The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval (Buy Direct). Horrell contends that managers who are kind to their employees will see an improvement in customer service and sales. Kaplan Thaler and Koval say that workers who are mean will only get ahead until they make a mistake and therefore they should do nice things for others. According to the article, Dan Ackman on CareerJournal.com disagrees. "Nice guys finish last" he says quoting Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher. So what do you think? Does it pay to be nice at work? Take the poll to let us know and click "comments" below to share your thoughts on this topic.
Poll: Is Being Nice at Work Harmful or Helpful?
Comments
What really helps is if you are tall, or if you are younger, or if you know someone in the orgazization. I noticed hiring managers do not even bother to read a resume before an interview.
Overall I think it’s helpful. That’s why I voted that. It can vary a lot depending on the job though.
Glen, what do you mean they don’t read a resume? How exactly do they choose who gets interviewed out of the applicants then?
Judging from what I’ve seen in the last few years (been in the workforce for about 25 years), the nice guys/gals are frequently taken advantage of by their co-workers and managers.
That being said, I still try to be a nice guy at work, because that’s how I was raised to be and I still have to look myself in the eye every morning. I’d rather be taken advantage of than become like them.
Glen, I’m a manager with hiring responsibilities. I do read resumes, which is how I choose candidates for phone screening and from there for interviews–both before I’ve seen how tall, and (unless the candidate includes an age on the resume)how old they are.
However, when I’m speaking to a dozen candidates in an afternoon, there’s a possibility of misremembering which qualification went with which person. If I refer to the resume during an interview, or ask a question that the resume answers, I may be trying to keep your information distinct.
Or I may be waiting to hear you talk about that experience, to see if what you say matches what you wrote.
I think being nice always helps in the workplace. That doesn’t mean you have to be naive, or that you have to assume that everyone else is acting in your best interest. You can be kind and still watch out for yourself.
Unfortunately I have to agree with Glen on the resume thing, though I don’t think tall or young wins out. Where I work, the higher you go the less the managers read the resumes. I suppose they figure HR already did that for them. I’m guessing they base their hiring on experience and knowledge discussed in the interview as well as confidence and likeability.