Everyone has a “schmuck” in their office—a difficult, disruptive person who upsets the workplace, confuses their co-workers and causes concern. No one is safe from a schmuck. They come in many sizes and shapes, such as:

- Narcissus—the self-centered, condescending, attention-seeking peacock who tramples on others
- The Flytrap—the bringer of chaos who can flip from angry to happy in an instant creating an office maelstrom
- The Bean Counter—the orderly perfectionist who never gives up control even when it’s full-steam-ahead to disaster
- The Robot—the inflexible stone wall who is incapable of adapting, even in the face of much-needed change

Sound like anyone you know? These are just a few of the more prominent schmucks. In her new book, Dr. Jody Foster explains the entire spectrum of schmucks, how they can decrease productivity, and generally make everyone else unhappy. After delineating the various types of schmucks, she looks at personality traits and explains how interactions among coworkers can become maladaptive leading to workplace disasters. She helps readers understand the schmuck as a person, figure out how to help him or her, and effect a positive solution. Dr. Foster also helps readers understand the most difficult thing of all: sometime you are the “schmuck.” Let Dr. Jody Foster show you how to help the schmuck, know if you are the schmuck, and make your workplace a happy and productive one.

JODY FOSTER, MD, MBA, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Pennsylvania Hospital. She attained her MBA, with a concentration in finance, from the Wharton School.

MICHELLE JOY is currently a psychiatry resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania interested in the intersections between clinical medicine and the humanities.