Toxic at Work: Surviving your psychopathic workmates, from the dominant bullies to the charming manipulators

Most bullies are psychopaths, but not all psychopaths look like bullies. Many blind us with their charm and dazzle us with their success. But they all share a common trait that makes them highly dangerous: they don’t have empathy.

Research tells us that one in twenty people have no empathy. Empathy is the human ingredient that enables trust, forges bonds and allows teams to work and workplaces to thrive. It is why we are able to build cities and play football. The psychopath is not interested in cooperative effort but in individual power and glory – and they will stomp on anyone who gets in their way, destroying careers, teams and, sometimes, organisations.

Using research and stories drawn from history, politics, sports and business, Gillespie explains how workplace psychopaths – from bosses to clients, colleagues and customers – see the world, and highlights their devastating impact on workplaces. He shows empaths how to self-protect and organisations how to use trust, transparency and teamwork to insulate against the corrosive impact.

Unflinching in its analysis of the problem and clear-sighted in suggesting solutions, this is an essential guide for spotting, managing and ejecting the workplace psycho, once and for all.