Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. (2011)

“26% of bullying is accounted for by 1% of employees – those who are Corporate Psychopaths.

Clive R Boddy Professor of Leadership and Organisation Behaviour, Middlesex University.
Journal of Business Ethics, May 2011, Volume 100, Issue 3, pp 367-379

This article reports research among 346 senior white-collar employees from a variety of organisations in Australia “that clearly links the presence of Corporate Psychopaths in an organisation with bullying and unfair supervision.”

“..when Corporate Psychopaths are present in a work environment, the level of bullying is significantly greater than when they are not present.

“when Corporate Psychopaths are present, supervisors are strongly perceived as being unfair to employees and disinterested in their feelings.”

The article concludes that “around 26% of bullying is accounted for by 1% of the employee population, those who are Corporate Psychopaths.”

The theoretical links between psychopathy and bullying are also discussed.

Narcissism, lack of self-regulation, lack of remorse and lack of conscience are traits displayed by bullies. These traits are shared with psychopathy, indicating that there is some theoretical crossover between bullies and psychopaths.

“It has also been suggested that the definition of bullying should also include practices like the taking credit for another’s work. This is reported as a common practice of psychopaths in the workforce. This also suggests a connection between psychopath and bullying.”

Access the article here: Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision