Why Tolerating a Jerk on Your Development Team Is a Recipe for Bad Software

In a previous article, we looked at the critical importance of psychological safety for reaching your business goals. But let’s be real: psychological safety doesn’t stand a chance in an environment where jerks are allowed to thrive.

As a leader, you care about innovation, productivity, and retention—and therefore cannot afford to tolerate toxic behavior. Not even from your star employee. Not even for a second.

Here’s why.

The High Cost of Turning a Blind Eye

First of all, when we say “jerk,” we aren’t talking about someone who’s had a bad day. We aren’t referring to those who communicate more directly than others, are comfortable engaging in respectful confrontation, or whose cultural background shapes a different style of interaction. We're talking about someone who has a repeated pattern of toxic behavior, i.e., mistreating others and being unwilling to accept constructive criticism to modify their behavior.

Toxic behavior isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a cancer that eats away at the very fabric of your team. And if you don’t cut it out, it will destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to build. Here are a few of the consequences of letting a jerk stick around:

The Morale Massacre

Let’s start with the obvious: jerks make people miserable. Whether it’s the senior engineer who belittles everyone in code reviews or the product manager who takes credit for others’ work, toxic behavior creates a culture of fear and resentment.

And when people are miserable, they disengage. They stop caring, and they stop trying. With employee engagement directly tied to job satisfaction and performance, a single toxic team member can tank morale for the entire group.

Perhaps a senior developer always mocks junior developers for missing minor details—instead of training them. Over time, these newer team members start second-guessing every line of code they write and rarely speak up in planning sessions for fear of being belittled. As a result, team members have been trained to “stay in their lane,” and neither the team nor the product benefits.

The Productivity Black Hole

Jerks don’t just hurt feelings—they hurt the bottom line. When your team is busy tiptoeing around a toxic colleague, they’re not focusing on their work. The finished software product suffers because focus was taken away from the end user and instead directed towards self-preservation.

Another cost is the time wasted when developers start dreading code reviews. If a senior architect frequently rejects pull requests with condescending language, people will avoid submitting their changes. This slows down progress, invites mistakes to go unnoticed, and chips away at productivity.

Worse yet, you could be building up insidious technical debt via a product manager that’s so focused on feature releases that he doesn’t allow engineers to write automated tests or pay down technical debt. This productivity killer will hit you later down the line, right at the moment when you’re poised to grow.

The Retention Crisis

Turnover is one of the most expensive problems a company can face. It extends beyond recruitment costs. The loss of institutional knowledge, the disruption to your project’s timeline, and the damage to your company’s reputation all factor in.

If you tolerate a jerk–even if they’re one of your “best” people–your other best people will leave. High-performing employees don’t stick around in toxic environments because they don’t have to. They can find a position in a company with a more positive culture–and you’ll be left with a team of underperformers and order-takers.

Sustainable success when building software relies on collaboration and mutual respect. While it may seem easier in the short term to ignore the problem, the long-term consequences of tolerating a jerk—diminished team engagement, stalled projects, and a revolving door of talent—are far more damaging. Addressing toxic behavior early not only preserves the health of your team but also supports the success and longevity of your software.

Our CEO, Jamie Smyth, has personal experience with dealing with a jerk on the team. You can check out his story here:

Identifying the Jerk on Your Team—Common Traits of a Toxic Team Member

Not all jerks are loud or overtly aggressive. Some are subtle, using passive-aggressive comments, undermining others, or playing favorites. Here’s what to look for in your organization:

The Divider creates unnecessary divisions, plays favorites, or isolates team members, which can erode trust and cohesion within the group.

The Bully belittles others, raises their voice, or uses aggressive body language.

The Empathy Vacuum ignores or dismisses the feelings and perspectives of others.

The Relentless Snark focuses solely on problems, constantly pointing out flaws rather than seeking solutions.

The Underminer takes credit for someone else’s work or deliberately hinders others' success.

Pay attention to feedback from your team. If multiple people are complaining about the same individual, it’s a red flag. Also, look for patterns of behavior rather than isolated incidents. One bad day doesn’t make someone a jerk, but a consistent pattern of toxic behavior does.

Sometimes, toxic behavior can even manifest in the form of what a team member doesn’t do. For example, collaboration requires patience and trust. A developer who consistently runs ahead of the UX team, making his own design decisions and only involving designers at the end for aesthetic purposes, not only makes the product worse, but reveals that he doesn’t value what his colleagues bring to the table. He may not have spoken a word, but the message of distrust and dismissal will come through loud and clear.

Addressing the Problem

De-jerkifying the team isn't easy, but it's necessary if you want to keep things running smoothly. Letting the behavior slide can lead to bigger problems down the line, so it's important to step in and take action. Here’s a list of practical steps you can take to address the issue and get the team back on track:

Set Clear Expectations

Establish a code of conduct that outlines acceptable behavior and communicates that toxic behavior won’t be tolerated. Make sure everyone on the team understands the importance of respect, collaboration, and psychological safety. Have a mission statement that includes these values.

Have the Difficult Conversation

If you’ve identified a jerk on your team, it’s time to have a difficult conversation. Schedule a private meeting and provide specific examples of their behavior. Focus on the impact of their actions rather than attacking their personality. For example, instead of saying, “You’re being a jerk,” say, “When you interrupt people during meetings, it makes them feel disrespected and discourages collaboration.”

Take Action

If the behavior doesn’t improve, it’s time to escalate the issue. In some cases, the best solution is to part ways with the toxic team member. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But if you don’t do it, you’re sending a message to the rest of your team that toxic behavior is acceptable.

Once you've dealt with the toxic behavior, it’s time to focus on building a culture where that kind of negativity doesn’t have a chance to grow. A strong, positive team culture helps everyone stay engaged, motivated, and working toward the same goals.

Building a Jerk-Free Culture

Keeping the workplace jerk-free will contribute to an environment where the best ideas win, problems are solved faster, and your organization thrives. This may call for a few systemic changes, but the results will be worth it.

Hire for Cultural Fit

Prevention is better than cure. When hiring new team members, look for more than just technical skills. Assess their interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and ability to work well with others. Avoid the temptation to hire an aggressive “genius”—no matter how impressive their portfolio or resume is, their toxic behavior will cost you in the long run.

Cultivate a Positive Team Environment

Encourage open communication and feedback within your team. Create opportunities for team members to connect and build trust, such as regular retrospectives or team-building activities. Celebrate collaboration and teamwork, not just individual achievements.

Lead by Example

As a leader, your behavior sets the tone for the entire team. Model the values you want to see in your team: respect, empathy, and collaboration. Train all managers in conflict resolution. Hold everyone accountable for their behavior, including top performers.

Get Teams Working Together on Daily Tasks

Teamwork and knowledge sharing thrive when there’s trust and openness, and that trust grows when people feel safe to be themselves while working side by side. In software, two developers can collaborate on the same task through pair programming. Pairing helps distribute knowledge, improve code quality, and reduce ego-driven behavior. It’s also a great way to ensure junior team members feel supported rather than intimidated.

Normalize Learning From Mistakes

Challenges arise all the time, including bugs, missed deadlines, and underwhelming user feedback. Create space for teams to talk about what went wrong so everyone can learn from it. It’s awkward sometimes, but it’s key to improving and doing better next time.

Make Sure Everyone Feels Noticed

When every team member feels valued—whether they’re a junior developer or senior architect—they feel less stressed and more included. It makes a huge difference in the way they show up at work.

Ask for Input With Real Openness

Encourage people to speak up by asking for their thoughts and genuinely listening. Show you care about their ideas, and don’t get upset if the feedback isn’t what you expect—it’s all part of the process.

Psychological Safety is the Antidote

At the end of the day, great software isn’t just a result of clean code and good design—it’s a product of the people creating it. If you want a team that’s engaged, innovative, and invested in building something great, you can’t afford to let a jerk poison the well.

Set the standard, enforce it, and build a culture where respect and collaboration are the default. Because in the long run, a team that feels safe, respected, and valued will always outperform one that’s walking on eggshells around a jerk.