Case Study: Psychopath at Work | "Successful Psychopathy"

As someone who works in HR, I've seen this sort of thing plenty of times and even been a victim of it. What amazes me is how enthusiastic employers are in terminating people who just want to do their jobs rather than engage in corporate pep rallies and cheerleading, but how gun shy they often are in disciplining employees who display marked antisocial tendencies.

Reminded me of the saying; "The best disinfectant is sunlight", too bad some high iq psychopaths have the ability to blindfold most people in their surroundings or make allies with promises they arent ever going to keep, but drag morally weakened morons to their team while they can be of personal use. At this point and age a psychologist's opinion should be part o the hiring criteria especially for positions of power. Outstanding video as always Dr. Grande.

I’ve noticed poor management in the workplace. It allows aggressive employees to manipulate good people and destroy their livelihoods.

Fascinating case study. As I look back, this "Dave," character was reflective of MOST of my former supervisors. It does explain behaviors that baffled me in the 90's. TY, again!

I can absolutely confirm that this can happen today, I live it every day. Our work place values aggressiveness in employees so our likely psychopathic narcissist is not likely to be totally reined in. She is the biggest kiss butt to management but spends all of her free time getting people upset about stuff and creating drama. She is one of the most horrible people I have ever met in my life but she thinks we are friends and it will remain that way for as long as possible, it just isn't worth the drama to take her on, she will stop at nothing to take down an "enemy" and i wouldn't put it past her to actually kill someone.

It’s awful to work around narcissist! Dont allow the narcissist to separate you from everyone else because they will try to triangulate and manipulate others by turning everyone against each other.

I had a situation at work with a supervisor who displayed psychopathic behavior. Luckily, my employer, the Director, was well aware, which came as a relief to me and others. Finally, this supervisor ended up being escorted of the property. It is true that this person had a small band of loyal fans. What about these people? Why do they continue to back bad behavior? Thanks.

I experienced a very similar situation as this case for over 4 years. I was highly respected and successful. Yet I almost lost the battle. One problem is I couldn't fight what I couldn't see. Backdoor communications are deadly and kept private. Second, they have a habit of doing things that make others look good, making them reluctant to believe you. Finally, companies are focused on "team" and see you as being disruptive to that model. There would likely never have been a resolution but a new director came in, who knew and was screwed over years prior by this individual. The thing I found mist difficult was working with someone who goes against everything you stand for like you support them. Its like forced cognitive dissonance in reverse.

Fascinating case! Unfortunately I think these types of people continue to thrive in many work settings. The sad part is that a lot of supervisors and managers are completely oblivious of employees like Dave. I strongly believe that workshops/ lectures in mental health topics must be implemented in companies as to increase awareness of the destructive power psychopaths and narcissists can create in organizations. Thank you again Dr. Grande!

My boss was fired 6 months ago all very similar so yes does still happen in this day and age. Within 6 months 16 people left because of him and every month more people went to HR to report his behaviours. In the end he was fired for drinking on shift. Love your videos thank you

Plot twist: The owners and supervisors were also psychopaths, and that’s why they viewed Dave as management material.

I'm in healthcare, working in a corporate environment. The medical director and director exhibit the good cop - bad cop routine. They allow and protect passive aggressive behavior from subordinates. They change the rules saying it's always been that way (and blame us for not knowing even though they never told us) causing us to question our own memories even if we have proof otherwise. Several of us realized how toxic the place is and are leaving. It astounds me how horrible this is and how upper management can't see the team falling apart, numbers are down, etc. High turnover, even from the original team members who are almost gone now, have become the norm. Not sure if it's because I now know what this behavior is or that there are more of these types in society, or both. Thank you for your information, it's very helpful.

This happened to me 5 months ago when I was dismissed from work for complaining about a co-worker who regularly crossed boundaries. I was literally frog marched off the premises. Looking back with hindsight, getting the sack was the best thing that could've happened. I just see it as being ejected from an especially toxic work environment. I still feel sorry for those still work there though.

It's amazing what can happen in the workplace. A friend had their manipulative bully co-worker fake a seizure when the boss called him out for insulting co-workers and trash talking them to their clients. The ambulance officer was actually laughing at him because he was that bad at acting (I believe it involved him dramatically flailing his limbs straight up in the air). A lesson that being good at manipulation doesn't necessarily equal high intelligence.

I stayed through four years of a psychopathic co-worker and office director. I would never do it again. It is not worth the health risks. Speaking of which, can you speak to the impact and toll on the health of the non-narcissistic/psychopathic individual? Thank you for another interesting video.

Dave is most of middle management in the US.

I worked for a guy just like Dave who tried to get me fired because he knew that I knew who he really was under that persona and I was a threat. After I left the company it took me a long time to recover from the stress, manipulation and lies I encountered. I wasn't the only victim in the company but like you said in your analysis people at top though this behavior was sign of ambition and they were probably psychopaths as well. Thanks Dr Grande for analysis it has given me some closure.

disheartening but that's the way it is. historically and across the classroom. thank-you.

This happens all the time, management refuses to accept, believe the truth. Sometimes coworkers will even decompensate mentally due to these psychopaths behavior. It happened to me

in the real estate field, i find eventually, many of these get their due. People finally see who the person really is but it never happens as quickly as we would like it to happen. I like to say, what goes around comes around but not quickly enough!