How Do I Dislike Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

Abstract

This article reports a study intended to develop a typology of “troublesome others” at work as a basis for research on unpleasant work relationships. Respondents were asked to assess an unpleasant work associate on a series of Likert-type scales; responses were submitted to factor analysis. The variables constructed from the factor analysis served as classification variables for cluster analyses of troublesome bosses, peers, and subordinates. The author presents the six troublesome boss clusters, eight troublesome peer clusters, and five troublesome subordinate clusters and discusses their implications for the impression formation literature and for management practice.