A Sociopath/Psychopath in the Workplace!

Sounds strange and unusual, doesn't it?  But it happens more often than we think. 

Trust your gut.

If somebody at work is charming and flattering you, and you get an uncomfortable feeling, withdraw from them and only interact on a professional level.  They could be a sociopath testing the waters to see if they can make you into their follower. Sociopaths love to have a follower to back them up and support them as their behavior becomes more and more outrageous and they turn on their other coworkers and their company.

The sociopath that I worked with was in a small company that did not have any specific rules of employee behavior or even a human resources department for that matter.  They just assumed that since their new employees were usually hired after being recommended by a small core group of people that everyone would behave in a reasonable and responsible manner.  Wrong!  The sociopath hid her true nature until she was firmly imbedded, and then her demands and behavior became more and more ridiculous and unreasonable.  She would call me at night, drunk, to complain about 2 male coworkers.  She came to work sometimes an hour, an hour and a half late with a hangover, bitterly complaining that her work was getting singled out.  If I disagreed, I was greeted with stony silence for weeks.  In this small lab, the two of us were mostly doing the wet work and I depended on her to complete her work so that I could then do the next steps.  This made things difficult.

She logged into other employees' computers, including mine to see what personal information she could glean.  She tried to get into my 401K account but fortunately I had changed the password.  She ultimately attempted to blackmail our company before leaving.

I have never been so happy as when this bitter, vindictive woman went out the door the last time!

Warning Signs that you may be working with a Sociopath:

Tries to isolate you from coworkers so that its the two of you versus Everyone Else

Flatters you constantly

Can't accept it and gets hostile if you disagree with anything, may turn into verbal attack

Tries to learn any secrets, then uses them against you later

Manipulative, lies as easily as breathing.  Twists everything around until you doubt yourself

Gets bored easily at work, may stir up trouble and controversy just for fun

Many failings in life but never takes responsibility, it is always somebody else's fault

Holds everyone else to a strict moral code but doesn't include themselves, justifies their (criminal) actions as if they were judge, jury and executioner

May indulge in impulsive risky behavior including drugs and alcohol

Has an abnormally vivid recollection of childhood

No life plan

Oddly childlike, simple in some ways


Well, this is my last blog of 2013.  Everyone have a happy and prosperous (and psycho-free) New Year! 

Kathy Presley