Irritability in the workplace
Since the beginning of the pandemic, employees and managers have been under an increased amount of stress. Adaptation to new work arrangements, increased workload, and health rules have taken a toll on mental health in the workplace.
While many have focused on feeling tired, increased sadness, and increased anxiety, another symptom has started to appear within households and in the workplace: Irritability. This symptom often occurs when we are tired and overwhelmed, and it can have a devastating impact on the work climate and workplace well-being.
Here is a link to an article I wrote on how to deal with irritability in the workplace:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6823987422783688704/
“The situation we are all going through increases the amount of stress we need to manage every day; our mind is constantly adjusting to new rules and reality. Our energy levels are not the same as they were before the pandemic. Keep in mind that irritability is a symptom of psychological distress. By taking care of yourself physically and mentally, you will be in a better position to manage this symptom.”
excerpt from the article
Take care and be kind to yourselves and the people around you. Remember that we are all trying to adapt to these new and everchanging times
Cynthia
The dark side of absent leaders
When we talk about toxic leadership, we often focus on abusive behaviors. However, in a study on corporate psychopaths, we found that, as leaders, not only are they abusive, but they are also absent.
However, in a study on corporate psychopaths, we found that, as leaders, not only are they abusive, but they are also absent.
I didn’t expect to find a strong relationship between psychopathy and Laissez-Faire leadership style (absent leader), as very few experts have studied the negative impact of absent leadership style.
Laissez-faire leadership encompasses behaviors such as avoiding getting involved when critical issues arise, being absent when needed, avoiding making decisions, and delaying responding to urgent questions.
Some experts view Laissez-faire leadership as passive-aggressive, including failing to protect the employee in a risk-exposed environment and withholding vital information from employees.
Absent leadership can hide dark intentions
Passive-aggressive behaviors are a form of violence and control. A leader who fails to support employees, who is absent and blames employees for mistakes, and who controls the information that employees receive keeps employees in the dark and a state of constant stress.
There is an advantage in keeping employees in a state of distress/stress for a toxic leader. Indeed, when employees are stressed, they are not likely to confront the leaders, are not empowered, and are more easily manipulated.
Passive-aggressive leadership is another form of leadership abuse. However, few have given it the attention it deserves.
Absent leadership can lead to employee burnout
An absent leader cannot communicate objectives clearly and does not support their employees. Without support from their managers to help deal with the stress present in the workplace, many employees will develop burnout symptoms.
In one study, we found that absent leadership is associated with higher symptoms of employee psychological distress and job-stress-related presenteeism. Presenteeism is in effect when employees’ attention to their work is reduced because they are using coping resources to deal with stress on the job. Employees would not have to use these coping resources if they were in a safe work environment and had their manager’s support.
While many believe that Laissez-faire leadership may be a good leadership style to adopt, as the leader gives employees latitude, this is not the case.
In every study I ran on Laissez-faire leadership, this style was associated with higher levels of employee psychological distress, work-related stress, and turnover and lower levels of work motivation, job satisfaction, and engagement.
Regardless of employees’ autonomy and skills, they need a leader who offers them direction, support, resources, and recognition for their work. They need to feel safe, appreciated, and understood.
An absent leader cannot make a workplace safe.
What can be done to address absent leadership?
- Hire leaders who care about employees, who have the skills to listen, be empathetic, and act with integrity and transparency.
- Create a safe work culture where leader and employee behavior are aligned with the company’s values.
- Make it a priority to conduct leadership performance appraisals that consider management behaviors such as support, openness, listening, coaching, empathy, integrity, and leaders who are present when their team needs them.
- Conduct regular employee well-being surveys, including questions on leader support and other positive leadership behaviors.
Absent leadership is more detrimental than what most think. Behind the “I trust my team, so I don’t need to be there” image often lies a leader who cares more about their career ascension than their employees’ well-being.
Organizations need to understand the importance of present, supportive, and kind leaders.
Take care of yourself and the people around you. 💗
Dark personalities in the workplace
What is personality?
Before we can understand dark personalities, we need to first understand the concept of personality.
We each have traits that define who we are and influence our actions, we call the combination of these traits our personality. Personality is partly heritable (genetics) and partly influenced by our life experiences (environmental factors). Our personality traits are rather stable over the course of our lives which means that the main traits that defined you as a child propably define you as an adult. Of course we can change as we experience life; however, our dominant traits (strenghts and weaknesses) tend to define us throughout our lives.
What are personality disorders?
What about personality disorders? Just as personality is composed of a combination of traits, personality disorders are also defined by a combination of traits. Each trait is on a continuum, which means that we can score anywhere from low to high on each trait and on the personality disorder as a whole as well.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders ( DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association provides clinical criteria for personality disorders. The manual defines personality disorders as such: “A Personality Disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.” As mentioned above, personality is stable over time and personality disorders do not appear following an event or a “mood” a person feels at some point in their lives.
When we study dark personalities in the workplace, we study what is called subclinical personality disorders. On a subclinical level, individuals present numerous traits of clinical personality disorders without necessarily being clinically recognized as having a personality disorder. Nevertheless, some individuals who score high on subclinical measures of dark personalities could also qualify for the clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, individuals who do not qualify for the full clinical diagnosis yet display many of the traits associated with a personality disorder can have a significant negative impact on their environment and on people around them.
Take, for instance, psychopathy, the most dangerous of the dark personalities. Even if an individual does not score at the clinical level, the traits that they present can be extremely detrimental to others. I believe that individuals who may not show extreme scores on dark personality disorders such as psychopathy may still be very dangerous. They may be better at disguising their dark side using highly developed interpersonal/manipulation skills.
The Dark Triad
Dr. Delroy Paulhus has introduced a dark personality model that he calls the Dark Triad, composed of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Although these personalities share common traits (Dr. Paulhus explains that all three personalities present a malicious character, have a tendency for self-promotion, emotional coldness, lying, and aggressiveness), they are not equivalent.
Dark triad common core
Dr. Daniel Jones studies the similarities between the three personalities and has termed the similarities “the core of darkness” which is defined by Callousness and manipulation. In fact, Dr. Jones used Robert Hare’s psychopathy model to test the core of darkness and the two factors that were identified as the shared elements for all three Dark Triad personalities are Dr. Hare’s Factors 1 and 2 (from the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, his measure of psychopathy). These factors are:
Factor 1 Manipulative/Unethical
- Superficial charm
- Grandiose sens of self-worth
- Pathological lying
- Conning/Manipulative
Factor 2 Callous/Insensitive
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Failure to accept responsibility
While all dark personalities composing the Dark Triad share common traits, they should not be considered equivalent.
Paulhus & Williams (2002)
Defining dark personalities
Narcissism
“Narcissism is a complex trait that includes inflated views of self, intrapsychic and interpersonal strategies for maintaining these inflated self-views, and poor relational functioning.” – Twenge & Campbell (2003)
Narcissistic individuals are self-centered, they need to be admired and to be the center of attention. These individuals are highly competitive and may react aggressively to criticism. They have low empathy for others and they will not hesitate to use them to get what they want. They believe that they are superior to others and, as such, that they are entitled to privileges. Not surprisingly, narcissism has been referred to as the “God complex”.
As I mention in my book Dark Personalities in the Workplace, power over others is also sought by narcissistic individuals, which include sexual benefits that they believe come with power. They believe that others are attracted to them and they often exhibit sexually suggestive behavior within the workplace. They do not enjoy being managed and they need to have constant praise for their work, regardless of the amount of effort (or lack thereof) that they invest. Their assessment of themselves and their achievements is always very high, regardless of facts pointing to the contrary. Note that they will not hesitate to pass other people’s work and ideas as their own to get the credit. They will resort to manipulation and lying to get what they want. They often have a strong presence and are therefore able to influence others. They see their superior as a rival and will often try to diminish his or her credibility and reputation. As employees, they cannot be trusted as they will do anything to gain power within the organization, they are self-serving individuals who do not work for anyone but themselves.
Machiavellianism
“Since the publication of The Prince in 1532, the name of its author has come to designate the use of guile, deceit, and opportunism in interpersonal relations. Traditionally, the “Machiavellian” is someone who views and manipulates others for his own purpose.” – Christie & Geis (1970)
The term Machiavellianism comes from Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian diplomat who wrote a book entitled “The Prince” in which he explains that rulers should use any means at their disposal to get what they want; including committing immoral deeds. As I mention in my book Dark Personalities in the Workplace, Machiavellians, as opposed to psychopaths and narcissists, are able to conduct long-term schemes; they are not as impulsive and may not be as flamboyant as the other two personalities, which serves them well as they are able to operate under the radar for longer periods. Indeed, impulsivity is often what allows others to see beyond the lies and manipulation, beyond the image created by individuals with dark personalities. As such, not being as impulsive as the other two personalities composing the Dark Triad is an asset that serves Machiavellians as it allows them to be more calculating and strategic when conducting their schemes. Machiavellians have an excellent political sense and they have the ability to learn the ins and outs of an organization in very little time, which allows them to navigate its power structure with dexterity.
Psychopathy
“Because they are emotionally unconnected to the rest of humanity, and because they callously view others as little more than objects, it should be relatively easy for psychopaths to victimize the vulnerable and to use violence as a tool to obtain what they want.” -Robert D. Hare (1999)
Psychopathy is the most dangerous of the three Dark Triad personalities. It can be defined by four factors labeled as follows: Interpersonal (Glibness/superficial charm, Grandiose sense of self-worth, Pathological lying, Conning/manipulative); Affective (Lack of remorse or guilt, Shallow affect, Callous/lack of empathy, Failure to accept responsibility for actions); Lifestyle (Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom, Parasitic lifestyle, Lack of realistic long-term goals, Impulsivity, Irresponsibility); and Antisocial (Poor behavioral controls, Early behaviour problems, Juvenile delinquency, Revocation of conditional release, Criminal versatility). These four Factors are measured by Robert Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003). Psychopathy is the most dangerous of the three Dark Triad personalities. What distinguishes psychopaths from other individuals is the fact that they do not have a conscience. They do not feel guilty for the crimes they have committed, in fact, when questioned, they feel entitled to what they may have gained by committing the crime. They are pathological liars and, when confronted about a discrepancy in what they said, they will lie about having said that, dismiss it, or offer another explanation without feelings of shame or remorse. As I mention in my book Dark Personalities in the Workplace, Psychopaths are master manipulators and they have the charisma to influence others into thinking that they are great leaders. Make no mistake, psychopathic individuals are not loyal; they are deceitful, dangerous, and they only serve one master: their ego.
I believe that knowledge is power. Therefore, by writing this blog, I wish to help employees and organizations gain knowledge on dark personalities to protect their workforce and their assets.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this information and that it will prove to be helpful to you. I will keep posting information on dark personalities in the workplace, leadership, and employee well-being on this blog. Take care, Cynthia
My new blog
Why create a blog?
This blog will allow me to share my passion for helping organizations create a positive workplace and my desire to increase awareness of dark individuals and how we can prevent them from entering and harming organizations and their employees.
What you will find on this blog
On this blog, I will post practical advice and insights on employee well-being, creating a healthy and safe workplace, selecting the best candidates, and promoting the right leaders.
I hope that my blog will help individuals and organizations realize the importance of putting employees’ well-being first and creating safe and positive workplaces.