10 jobs most likely to have psychopaths

Look around, do you see any psychopaths in the office?

According to a book called 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success', psychopaths do not have to be serial killers or rapists - they could exist in the office in the form of an ordinary colleague as well.

In fact, the person most likely to be a psychopath is your CEO, it says.

The book is based on a study called 'Disordered personalities at work' by Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon of the University of Surrey. Based on their findings, business leaders were found to possess more psychopathic attributes than criminals. These atributes include superficial charm, egocentricity, persuasiveness, lack of empathy, independence and focus.

But before you start worrying about working with a potential anti-social murderer, note that the researchers also found that criminals had more anti-social characteristics.

Psychopaths tend to work in powerful positions which require them to make cut-throat decisions and achieve their goals at all costs, the book says.

While not all psychopaths are criminals, it is important for office managers to deal with them the right way as their behaviour can be mentally tormenting for many.

ljessica@sph.com.sg