Does Murphy’s law imply there will always be an office psychopath on the job ?
If people trained 8hrs per day to be super fit,
then ensured their 24/7 automated systems were handling their problems,
and only then attempted other work they were well qualified for,
they’d be reasonably immune from the office psychopath, and who knows, might figure some way to get rid of the office psychopath.
But most people are not immune. They allow themselves roped into doing little jobs that don’t contribute to program effectiveness and while they are off their guard doing these rather meaningless jobs they may let their health run down or in some other way become susceptible to attack from the office psychopath.
"men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived. One recent example I cannot pass over in silence. Alexander VI did nothing else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found victims; for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who with greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less; nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes, because he well understood this side of mankind."
(machiavelli, the prince, ch 18, para. 21)
To epistemologyfan.
Terric insight.
Thanks.
Related posts:
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- On a scale of wickedness the office psychopath is much worse than the bank manager who embezzles. Why immune?
- Is the office psychopath an extremely rare phenomenon, or bog common ?
- By repute the office psychopath is a disaster, “a “must to avoid”. So without the office psychopath, things ..
- Is no price is too great to rid the office psychopath from your midst ?
October 8th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I’ll give you the simple answer. Murphy’s law supercedes natural law. So therefore, yes, there will always be an office psychopath. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it adds a certain balance to the force.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Yes, it does.
There is no job that somehow does not depend on trust.
It is human nature to seek the maximum benefit with minimal effort. The honest way to get it is by becoming efficient on the job. The dishonest way is what you call psychopath. All humans work for a living. We all find work where the boss believes we can do the job reliably. The psychopath cons the boss into believing he is willing and able to do the job. The boss may not really fall for the con, but may keep the psychopath because there is always a risk with new employees, because it is a bad job and difficult to fill, because the psychopath can be trusted not to ask for raises and to stay until he drops dead, because it is just easier to keep things as they are. Finally, nobody comes into a job fully qualified to do it well, as such experience is acquired on the run. With all the complexity of a job, it is impossible to tell if the difficulties are generated by the job itself or the personalities involved.
Because these reasons can apply to all jobs, I would say that there will always be a psychopath on the job.