Are you working for a Psycho?

The you tube clip above gives an excellent description of the ‘real’ likely outcome of bringing bullying to the attention of those whose remit is to help you.  I advise that you watch it before you make any moves to end your bullying at work.

Is there a bullying psychopath in your midst?

The term Psychopath, Sociopath and Antisocial Personality Disorder are interchangeable since the same characteristics can be seen in all three.

The definition of a Psychopath on Wiki is…….. “a term used until the 1980′s to describe a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy masked by an ability to appear outwardly normal”.

Whereas the definition of a sociopath on e-how is “Sociopaths have little regard for the feelings of others and manipulate others in order to get what they desire” Nowadays the condition has a new name.  Anti social personality disorder

Extract from http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

“In the 1830′s this disorder was called “moral insanity.” By 1900 it was changed to “psychopathic personality.” More recently it has been termed “antisocial personality disorder” in the DSM-III and DSM-IV. Some critics have complained that, in the attempt to rely only on ‘objective’ criteria, the DSM has broadened the concept to include too many individuals. The APD category includes people who commit illegal, immoral or self-serving acts for a variety of reasons and are not necessarily psychopaths”.

Bullying is not just in the playground

Antisocial behaviour, or “moral insanity” can be seen in almost every walk of life and although there is nothing new about the condition we are at least talking about it more in the media which offers some hope that intervention may be at hand.  As long as there has been a school yard there has been bullying a subject from which many a gripping novel has been born.  It seems the latest craze in the bullying stakes to raise its ugly head these days is using food allergies to terrorise targets.  By the way that is what we call people who have been singled out for the ‘special’ treatment of a bully, we no longer refer to them as victims because the negative image it conjures used to give the impression that the one being bullied was the problem. Almost like implying that to be a victim meant that they had caused themselves to be bullied like a magnet attracting iron filings toward it.  I suppose we should not be surprised, given that bullies are on the way to becoming sociopaths that this particularly fortuitous (from the  bullies point of view) affliction can be manipulated to serve their wicked purposes.  Bullies have no empathy, no remorse or guilt, they are by definition morally beleaguered.  Due to their lack of empathy they cannot even see what is wrong with their actions.  Most bullies have narcissistic personalities.  The narcissistic personality shouldn’t be confused with narcissistic personality disorder which is rare, although absolutely deadly.  In case you are wondering what narcissism is; the story goes that narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and became so besotted with himself that he stayed so long he took root and turned into a flower. That is what defines the sociopath, and the bully, it’s all about me, me, me, they are so enamoured with themselves they truly believe that they should be allowed to do whatever they like to whoever they like to get what they want. unfortunately they don’t turn into a flower, more often they turn into a tornado and like the tornado they have no concept of the destruction they leave behind them .  Not that they would care; the broken people that they leave behind are in their view weak and useless.  Their victims can’t further the desires of the narcissist so they are expendable and barely given a backward glance.  You see the narcissist is only interested in one thing “What I need”, “what I want”, “what I can get”…. and they don’t care how much havoc they have to wreak to get it. Why should they? They don’t see others in that light.  A bully cannot factor in that other people have feelings. Other people are simply instruments; pawns to be used in their game of one-upmanship.

Can we prevent bullying?

Quite what we do about it in a world where schools are reluctant to take the lead in weeding out these cowardly individuals is still an unanswered question.  In the world of work sociopathic behaviour tends to be rewarded rather than punished.  Over recent years research has shown that company executives and psychopaths share the same characteristics which are a lack of empathy and a being devoid of conscience. This of course comes in very handy if you have been tasked with the job of downsizing a company or breaking up it’s assets om order to sell parts of it off.  It wouldn’t do to start to wonder how all the people that are being affected by the move might be affected by it.  They are also master manipulators, during this past decade alone we have heard horrifying stories of hubris, greed and gross indifference to the losses endured by ordinary and innocent people at the hands of these psychopaths. Bernard Madoff being the architect of reportedly the largest ponzi scheme the world has ever seen and which resulted in the devastation of hundreds of people although the effects of this deception will be felt by thousands before it has run its course. Who could forget the Enron corporation which crafted an elaborate false accounting scheme that included many of the senior management team.

Psychopaths are hidden in plain sight

The problem with the word psychopath or even sociopath is that they conjure up images of Hannibal Lecter or Michael Myers type characters who go around picking up victims to slash and murder.  This depiction (which has been borne out in some cases of course,the character of Lecter was based on case studies of the FBI)  lulls us into a false sense of security though because it gives the impression that all Psycho’s are rabid killers rarely seen in less than one percent of the population.  The truth is that psychopathic or

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499

sociopathic or antisocial (if you prefer the trendier term) personalities  may be indicated in 1 in 25 of our population.  Of course not all of those 1 in 25 will go on to rise to the top of the corporate world, in fact very few do since other characteristics of this personality disorder are  an in inability to discipline oneself to see a task through and erratic behaviour.  Coupled with quick flashes of vitriolic and violent temper these personalities often alienate and isolate themselves.  But let us not forget that they are capable of mimicking superficial charm with the flair of the accomplished actor and will perform grandiose gestures of generosity in their quest to gather allies. The truth is that many appear to have all the recognisable signs of normality by surrounding themselves with spouses and children who may seem, on the surface at least, to be having a good life yet in later years tell tales of psychological and sometimes physical cruelty that was endured.

Most bullying takes place between co-workers

You may have let out a sigh of relief when I said that most anticsocials don’t make it to Senior Management but don’t let down you guard yet.  You see most people are bullied not by their senior managers but by their own co-workers; people in their peer group or first in their upline.  This makes sense if you think about it. The work flow is often interdependant making it necessary for one person to have completed their task before another can make progress in theirs.  Unfortunately this subtlety is seldom recognised during an appraisal which is when those driven wannabees who want to get ahead at any cost may begin to feel vulnerable and insecure. When this happens you can watch out as their grasping personalities will mean that they will revert to their true colours and begin pushing others around.

The cost of corporate bullying and psychopathic behaviour

Remember that these people are not the hulking bully of the school playground, these are articulate intelligent manipulative people who know exactly what they want and have no moral qualms about how they get it.  Those of you who have suffered at the hands of the psycho lurking in the offices and boardrooms of the corporate world will know only too well the effects of their manipulations and games.  The HSE in the UK states that 18 million work days per year are lost due to stress related healthy issues

Quote from HSE UK

“Research has shown that one of the major causes of work related stress is the impact of managers and their skills to manage staff and stress in the work place”.

In other words managers who have no empathy; are evasive; and will not be held accountable.  Managers who wheedle and manipulate themselves into positions of authority because of their shallow and superficial people skills and surround themselves with their equally shallow toadies are causing untold damage to individuals,  business and the economy. It’s no use appealing to their better natures. Don’t you get it? They don’t have one! This is their nature.  Maybe, just maybe if we catch ‘em early enough while they are still at school we may be able to direct them away from their scheming ways towards more useful behaviours. Although I confess I doubt it.

Your company doesn’t know how to deal with your bully

What is really needed is that we educate the public to the extent that they can smell the bully in their midst and then make it acceptable to name and shame them thus making anti social behaviours completely unacceptable in the workplace (nay in the world) resulting in the dismissal of those who display them, instead of the current situation which sadly sees the target being marginalised and punished for having brought the subject to the attention of senior management, who are of course more likely to be on the spectrum of sociopathic behaviour than the general workforce because of their driven nature.  It’s a puzzle I have to admit so the only advice I can give you at the moment is, watch your back!

Definition Sociopath

• Jekyle and Hyde, one moment charming (especially in company) the next cruel.
• Evasive and cannot be held accountable
• Silver tongued quick witted
• Master manipulator and will engineer himself into positions of authority
• is skilled at identifying, undermining, discrediting, neutralising and destroying anyone who can see through the sociopath’s mask of sanity.
• Manipulates cliques around them (wannabees)
• is able to anticipate and credibly say what people want to hear
• has no emotions, no emotional processing capability and no ability to understand other’s emotions
• likes, seeks, enjoys and relies on procedure, ritual and ritualistic practices
• displays zero empathy
• completely without conscience, remorse and guilt

Definition Psychopath

• glib and superficial charm
• grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
• need for stimulation
• pathological lying
• cunning and manipulativeness
• lack of remorse or guilt
• shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
• callousness and lack of empathy
• parasitic lifestyle
• poor behavioral controls
• sexual promiscuity
• early behavior problems
• lack of realistic long-term goals
• impulsivity
• irresponsibility
• failure to accept responsibility for own actions
• many short-term marital relationships
• juvenile delinquency
• revocation of conditional release
• criminal versatility

If you are experiencing bullying in your workplace why not take advantage of this free course to help you.