Sociopaths and bullying in the workplace

By Jan Aylsworth, examiner.com

A few years ago, I asked one of my friends, who happens to be a practicing psychologist, whether she could tell from the beginning which Survivor contestant would win the million dollars. “No,” she replied, “but I can usually spot the narcissistic sociopath.”

The term “sociopath” is in the news today because Mary Jo Buttafuoco is using it to describe her ex-husband, Joey Buttafuoco. She appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” today, discussing her ordeal in May 1992 of being shot in the face by her then-husband’s teen-age girlfriend.

The definition of “sociopath” is not clearly agreed-upon in the psychology literature, but as my psychologist friend alluded, “narcissistic personality disorder” (NPD) is recognized as legitimate. Both NPD and sociopathology are relevant for the workplace because they are studied in connection with bullying in the workplace.

Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, some of the symptoms associated with NPD are:

- Taking advantage of other people to achieve one’s own goals.

- Requiring constant attention and admiration.

- Disregarding the feelings of others and lacking empathy.

Bullying in the workplace
Here’s some of what the academic literature has to say about workplace bullying:

- Because bullying usually takes place behind the scenes, supervisors and even co-workers often do not realize that it’s happening.

- Among participants in a study by Judith Fisher-Blando, D.M., (see source material at bottom), 75 percent said they had been the target of a bully and/or witnessed bullying at work.

- Sociopaths bully especially when they achieve positions of power and influence.

- Bullying acts often occur as small incidents that may appear harmless when viewed in isolation. However, when viewed as a pattern, they can reveal abuse and aggression.

- Organizations don’t have a clear view of how destructive bullying can be for organizational performance.

- The workplace pressures associated with downsizing and restructuring may intensify bullying among those who are prone to it.