Another Reason Your Annoying Co-Worker Should Be Fired

Research has just confirmed what most people already knew: The office antagonist ought to be fired. Jerks in the workplace bring morale down, cost a lot of money to deal with, and risk sending good employees running.

For a report published on Tuesday, talent management firm Cornerstone OnDemand analyzed a data set of 63,000 employees and singled out "toxic employees," or people who were dismissed from their jobs because they harassed their co-workers, falsified documents, engaged in fraud, or were violent in the workplace. Not surprisingly, the firm found that toxic employees make people around them miserable. When the ratio of toxic employees rises by a one-in-20 ratio, co-workers become 54 percent more likely to quit their jobs, the firm found.