Bad apples in the barrel: personality disorders at work. (2014)

“Personality Disorders … are in no way a matter of mental health but only of behaviour, and therefore subject to management oversight and intervention.

Dr Michael Reddy, Chartered Clinical and Occupational Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Fellow of the RSA, founder and former chairman of ICAS

Whitepaper prepared for the Human Potential Accounting (HPA) consultancy he leads

Published by The Undercover Psychologist Ltd ISBN 978-1-909862-00-5 [Paperback]

“Some of the best known and most damaging scandals in the financial services and investment industries of the past decade, as likewise in examples of high level political exploitation, morally reprehensible corporate activity and illegal media excesses, have been carried out by organisations and by individuals within them who are recognised in the psychological literature as personality disorders.

“Although well recognised in psychiatry, psychotherapy and counselling settings, Personality Disorders have attracted little attention in management circles where they are in fact most prevalent and dangerous; neglected possibly because they are understood as manifestations of mental illness.

“…Wherever they are found, these individuals damage the business, sometimes fatally, and they are extremely difficult to spot, thanks to their exceptional skills in ‘impression management’ – bad apples with shiny skins.

“What lies behind the facade remains hidden, a particularly dangerous element in the recruitment process. Such individuals can remain unmasked indefinitely.”

Access the full White Paper here: Bad apples in the barrel