_cover.jpg) Hardcover edition | |
| Author | Paul Babiak andRobert D. Hare |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Psychopathy,business |
| Publisher | HarperBusiness |
Publication date | May 9, 2006 (2006-05-09) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-083772-3 |
Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work is a 2006 non-fiction book byindustrial psychologist Paul Babiak andcriminal psychologistRobert D. Hare. The book describes how aworkplace psychopath can take power in a business usingmanipulation.
The text covers the nature of psychopaths in the context of employment and purports to explain how psychopaths manipulate their way into work and get promoted, the effects of their presence on colleagues andcorporations, and the superficial similarities (and fundamental differences) betweenleadership skills and psychopathic traits. The work is interlaced with fictionalnarratives illustrating how the factual content applies to real-life situations. Characteristics of manipulators are described as shifting to meet stereotypical gender expectations: a female psychopath might make full use of the passive, warm, nurturing, and dependentgender role stereotype in order to get what she wants out of others and a male psychopath might use amacho image, intimidation, and aggression to achieve satisfaction of his desires. The authors posit that around 1% of senior positions in business are occupied by psychopaths.
The authors describe a "five phase model" of how a typical workplace psychopath climbs to and maintains power: entry, assessment, manipulation, confrontation, and ascension.
The book also contains a statement from Hare addressing his role in the 2003documentary filmThe Corporation, in which he is interviewed on the topic of corporations being considered psychopaths. Hare states that despite the filmmakers telling him they were using psychopathymetaphorically to describe "the most egregious" corporate misbehavior, the finished documentary uses his statements to suggest that corporations are psychopathic in general or by definition. Hare disagrees, deeming it an inaccurate generalization and arguing that if common diagnostic criteria were applied to random corporations, "some might apply for the diagnosis of psychopathy, but most would not."
A review ofSnakes in Suits byThe Australian called it "a lay guide to corporate psychopaths" and concluded that "However wooden in parts,Snakes in Suits is a valuable addition to any business library."[1]
Snakes in Suits has also been reviewed byPublishers Weekly,[2]Booklist,[3]Psychology Today,[4]California Bookwatch,[5]Security Management,[6]Canadian Business,[7] andFinweek.[8]
Clear and complete, this is a handy overview for managers and HR, with enough ""self-defense"" techniques to help coworkers from getting bit.
This is an important perspective in the increasingly complicated hiring challenges facing corporate America.