Psychopaths in Retirement

[Dcharles]

I agree. I supervised a number of individuals and the most challenging were the crazy managers who thought their mission was to control their employees every move. Even when I reduced their salary increases and lectured them about their over bearing supervisory position, it just didn't help or change. If I could, I would have been off and the employees would certainly been better off if I could have fired them! Easier said than done.


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[Htown Harry]

Something to wonder about: Could some people become more like psychopaths/sociopaths due to this form of dementia that comes on during prime working years (40-60) and strips people of empathy before it wrecks memory, etc.:

Frontotemporal Dementia | Signs, Symptoms, & Diagnosis

I'm familiar with this disease. Amethyst is correct in observing that the behavioral variant of FTD can have some striking resemblances to psychotic behavior. Uninhibited actions or "going off" on someone in a verbal confrontation, for example. For that reason, FTD has often been misdiagnosed as mental illness.

And lack of empathy certainly an issue with both FTD and bosses who torment their underlings.

However, I don't think the OP's description is a very good match to FTD, for several reasons.

The behavioral symptoms of the disease begin as a middle-aged change in personality, often a dramatic one from the person's normal behavior. Also, there are only a few 10's of thousands of men and women with FTD in the U.S. FTD strikes very few people compared to mental illness, bad manners or damage from upbringing or traumatic life events.

The lack of empathy is more a subtle thing. I've come to realize that the common definition of "not putting oneself in another's shoes" is only part of the definition. With FTD, the loss of empathy also includes losing the ability to keep yourself inside your own personality's behavioral boundaries.

In my experience with a fair number of bosses - dating back to summer jobs where 18 y.o.'s supervised 16 y.o.'s - workplace personalities are established early and don't change dramatically over time. Sometimes a bad boss is just a bad boss. And - very often - a person with an overbearing, manipulative or "bossy" personality seeks to be the boss in the workplace, the home or other social settings.

 

[W2R]

And - very often - a person with an overbearing, manipulative or "bossy" personality seeks to be the boss in the workplace, the home or other social settings.

Like Lucy! (Yes, I agree completely.)

 

[bclover]

Serious question: Do psychopaths need others to control?

I thought they lack empathy and remorse, so regard other people as little more than tools to get what they want.

Seems to be at odds with actively seeking people out to "crush" and exploit?

I think they need others to shine their "glory". seriously. You right, while they lack empathy, they have self centerness in spades. crushing hirelings makes "them" look good.

 

[Markola]

Abusive bosses may be sadistic psychopaths or just some more pedestrian form of jerk.

This is the best answer for my vote. Why dignify and excuse such common and unpleasant people with a fancy, antiseptic diagnosis, as in "Oh, he can't help it, he has psychopath disease". It's not an illness, it's a tactic that works for them and I've changed jobs and made sure I am FI largely to get away from such toxic people.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Who do you think run HOAs?

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[youbet]

Agreed. This thread seems to be about psychopathic bosses as if it is a job requirement. As a boss myself, I had several individuals who worked for me over the years who'd best be defined as psychopaths.

They didn't care about controlling, beating up or 'getting something from people'. They just didn't care about anything but themselves.

+1

We always had an unwritten list of employees who a manager would be smart to avoid. No matter what department they were in, what specific job they were doing or who they were working for, they always characterized the "boss" as a psycho-idiot and felt that they themselves were perfect and under-appreciated.