With workplace bullying being a major cause of work-related stress, psychiatrist and Associate Professor in Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, Dr Renata Schoeman, has done in-depth research on the subject.
Among others, she identifies the’office psychopath’who leaves a trail of destruction which might not include murder, but can mean the death of productivity, motivation and profits.
The manipulation, deception, inflated self-opinion and back-stabbing of the corporate psychopath, or narcissist, can often cause work-related depression, anxiety disorders, burnout and physical illnesses: conditions which cost the South African economy more than R40-billion annually.
Work-related stress accounts for more than 40% of all workplace-related illnesses in South Africa, said Schoeman, with at least one in four employees diagnosed with depression.
It is often the leaders who should be at the forefront of reducing workplace stress and burnout, who contribute to the problem.
‘We are not talking about the ‘difficult’ boss here, but the boss who is a bully – many of whom could be defined as corporate psychopaths.
‘The bullying tactics of corporate psychopaths increase conflict, stress, staff turnover and absenteeism; reduce productivity and collective social responsibility; and erode corporate culture and ethical standards – diminishing shareholder value and returns on investment,’ Dr Schoeman said.
A 2017 survey in the USA found that adults were being bullied at levels similar to teenagers – 31% of adults had been bullied at work and almost half believed that bullying behaviour was becoming more acceptable in the workplace.
The survey found that 70% or more of bullying victims had experienced stress, anxiety or depression, 55% reported loss of confidence, 39% suffered from lack of sleep, 17% called in sick frequently, and 19% had suffered mental breakdown.
Emotional stress can also cause or aggravate physical illnesses such as gastrointestinal problems (such as irritable bowel syndrome) and cardiovascular problems (such as hypertension), while victims of workplace bullying had double the risk of considering suicide in the five years following.
Chief executives have the highest prevalence of psychopathic traits of all jobs – a rate second only to prison inmates – and while it is estimated that 1 in 100 of the general population have psychopathic traits, this rises to 1 in 25 among business leaders.
In what she calls ‘the curse of confidence’, Dr Schoeman said that many of the traits characteristic of psychopaths – such as charm, fearless dominance, boldness and a ‘grandiose sense of self’ – are also what help people get ahead in business.
She emphasised however, that not everyone with loads of confidence and who is successful, even if they have a brash approach to people, has a personality disorder.
The workplace bullies to be most concerned about, Schoeman said, are those with narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
‘Narcissists tend to be over-sensitive to criticism, over-competitive and often engage in counter-productive work behaviour when their self-esteem is threatened. They expect great dedication and may overwork others without any regard for the impact on their lives,’ Schoeman said.
The ‘darker personality’, she said, is the psychopathic character, the boss or colleague with antisocial personality disorder – who replaces the narcissist’s exploitative tactics with predatory drive for strategic conquests, domination and cruelty.
Dr Schoeman said both narcissists and psychopaths had traits that could be positive and they could be highly successful in business – ‘but they can also create highly toxic environments with just as significant an emotional and financial toll on employees and organisations as other more obvious workplace stress factors’.
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