How do you know if you're working with a Psychopath?

---

We’ve all had at least one colleague who made us question our sanity. The one who’s cheerful at times, maybe a little too smooth when they want something, and then grumpy and standoffish when things aren’t going their way. Whose mood you can’t predict, and you find yourself walking on eggshells around them. They might do you a favor here and there, but them being nice to you is just transactional- they’ll cash in that favor later. They might take credit for your good ideas and casually throw you under the bus when things go south. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

You might have jokingly called them a psychopath before.

Well… what if they actually are?

Turns out, the workplace can be a prime breeding ground for this particular type of personality. And if you’re working in business or finance, the odds of encountering one just went up significantly.

In this article, we’ll break down how to recognize one, because spotting them early might just save your sanity (and your career). In the next article, we’ll discuss how you can protect yourself from becoming their next target.

So What Is a Psychopath? The Science Behind the Mask.

Before we start pointing fingers, let’s define what we’re dealing with.

Psychopathy isn’t just about serial killers in horror movies or your favorite true crime podcast—it’s a well-documented personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, manipulative tendencies, and an inflated sense of self-worth (Hare, 1991). They also don’t feel guilt the way the rest of us do (Hare, 2003).

Why? Their brains are wired differently. Structural differences in their emotional processing centers mean they simply can’t feel remorse the way normal people do (Glenn et al., 2009).. And that’s why they don’t care who they hurt- as long as they win.

The gold standard for measuring psychopathy is a test called the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), developed by Robert Hare. It assesses traits like pathological lying, impulsivity, lack of remorse, and a parasitic lifestyle (Hare, 2003).

• This test is comprehensive, expensive, takes hours to administer, and typically used in criminal settings.

• It isn’t black or white- people score on a range/spectrum of psychopathy.

• There’s also a shorter version called the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL-SV) (Hart et al., 1995), which is used in non-criminal environments (like the workplace).

Now here’s where things get interesting.

Psychopathy in Business: The Research is Terrifying

If you think psychopaths are lurking around in dark alleys, you’re looking in the wrong place.

Full-blown psychopathy is considered rare in the general population, about 1 in 100 people (Coid et al., 2009)- though let’s be honest, that’s a pretty high number! But research suggests that certain environments attract them more than others.

A 2015 study found that business students had significantly higher psychopathic traits than students in any other field (Hassall et al., 2015). In fact, psychopathy appears disproportionately in high-powered environments like business and politics (Coid et al., 2009).

Why? Because psychopaths thrive in environments where charm, ruthlessness, and manipulation get rewarded.

That’s right- future CEOs and executives scored higher on manipulativeness, lack of empathy, and willingness to exploit others than students in psychology, medicine, or the humanities.

And this isn’t a one-off finding. Other research suggests that as many as 3.5% of senior business executives qualify as psychopaths- which is higher than in prison populations (Babiak & Hare, 2006).

So, if you’ve ever wondered why some companies feel like shark tanks, now you know why.

And if you’re wondering whether you’ve encountered a psychopath… you almost certainly have.

How to Spot a Workplace Psychopath

Psychopaths are masters of disguise.

The smart ones learn socially acceptable behaviors. They mimic empathy, sensitivity, and even kindness- not because they feel it, but because it helps them get what they want (Owens et al., 2017). This is why HR interventions or training don’t often work. They often learn what’s acceptable and can get even more manipulative. 

That’s what makes them so dangerous.

Drawing from the PCL-R and PCL-SV, here’s what to watch out for:

🔹 Superficial Charm – They’re charismatic, articulate, and persuasive. But it might ring hollow. Something in your gut will try to alert you to this (hopefully).

🔹 Pathological Lying – They twist facts, deny past statements, and gaslight people into questioning reality.

🔹 Lack of Empathy – They don’t care about your struggles, feelings, or personal well-being.

🔹 Lack of Remorse – They won’t feel sorry for what they’ve done. It’s not hard for them—it’s just how they operate.

🔹 Manipulativeness – They exploit people and situations to their advantage—without remorse and often without a second thought.

🔹 Grandiosity – They believe they’re smarter, more talented, and more important than everyone else. In their minds, they can do no wrong.

🔹 Blame Shifting – They never take responsibility. If something goes wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault.

🔹 Risk-Taking and Impulsivity – They love high-stakes situations, especially if it means big rewards for them (and major consequences for others). Research shows that the fear centers in their brain are less active, which might explain some of this behavior.

Not all psychopaths are raging, aggressive types. Some are cold, calculated, and play the long game—winning trust before they strike.

What’s Next? 

If reading this article made you realize you’re probably working with a psychopath, you’re not alone.

In Part 2, we’ll break down how to protect yourself—because while you can’t change them, you can learn how to outmaneuver them.

Stay tuned. 

References: 

Babiak, P., & Hare, R. D. (2006). Snakes in suits: When psychopaths go to work. HarperCollins.

Coid, J., Yang, M., Ullrich, S., Roberts, A., & Hare, R. D. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(2), 65–73

Glenn, A. L., Raine, A., & Schug, R. A. (2009). The neural correlates of moral decision-making in psychopathy. Molecular Psychiatry, 14(1), 5–6. 

Hare, R. D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Multi-Health Systems.

Hare, R. D. (2003). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. Guilford Press.

Hart, S. D., Cox, D. N., & Hare, R. D. (1995). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL-SV). Multi-Health Systems.

Hassall, R., Boduszek, D., & Dhingra, K. (2015). Psychopathic traits of business and psychology students and their relationship to academic success. Personality and Individual Differences, 82, 227–231. 

Owens, E. S., McPharlin, F. W. H., Brooks, N., & Fritzon, K. (2017). The effects of empathy, emotional intelligence and psychopathy on interpersonal interactions. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 25(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2017.1347936

Subscribe to receive weekly introspective leadership content.

Click Here