8 Trial Lawyer • Summer 2022 that had allowed him to isolate each department from the others so he could become their only mouthpiece. Once he controlled all communication, he then selectively manipulated the information and at times even fabricated information to turn every department against the other. Once Brandon returned from his vacation, he met with HR and was asked Toxic Employees Continued from p 7 to resign immediately or be terminated. Brandon, realizing the jig was up, shrunk into himself, and opted to quietly resign. Almost immediately after Brandon’s departure, relationships at Acme began to improve. In a few short months, all departments began collaborating with each other and functioned as a team. Acme saw an immediate increase in its sales, even without ever filling Brandon’s position. Chaos at work If this story seems far-fetched, think again! Although the names have been changed to protect the company, the facts have not. Several months ago, I was hired to conduct an internal investigation for a company after the sales director was forced to resign. What I found was shocking to be sure, but also more common than one would expect. The real question should be why would someone like Brandon intentionally create chaos at work? Mental health professionals will likely label Brandon as a workplace psychopath. The word psychopath may conjure an image of a diabolical and deranged serial killer that we see in scary movies or hear about from prison or mental institutions. Although these people suffer from severe psychopathy that affects about 1% of the population, research suggests that close to 30% of American workers have some level of psychopathic traits. Employees on the psychopathy spectrum are impaired but exactly where a person lies on the spectrum depends upon just how devoid of empathy they are and what other problematic traits they also possess. Most are extremely smart, deceitful, manipulative, smooth-talking and charming. They see themselves as superior and will prey on those they regard as inferior, even if they hold higher positions. Understanding a psychopath It is important to understand that psychopathy is a personality disorder, not a mental illness. According to research, a psychopath’s brain is wired to seek rewards at almost any cost. In response to a reward, their brains can release up to four times as much dopamine as nonpsychopaths. Although these types of employees likely do not want to murder us in our sleep, they can drive us to depths of despair and dysfunction, and on exceedingly rare occasions even to suicide or homicide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that more people are
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