| by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne
( January 22, 2013, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) Vipers are reptiles. Wikipedia defines a reptile as “members of the class Reptilia comprising the amniotes that are neither birds nor mammals. Living reptiles, in that sense, can be distinguished from other tetrapods in that they are cold-blooded and bear scutes or scales”. In other words, they are not warm blooded like the average unsuspecting human being and have thick skins.
My subject in this article is snakes and in particular, vipers (which often come to mind when a reference is made to a reptile) and experts say that it is somewhat difficult to distinguish between male and female snakes. Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare in their compelling book : “Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work” (Harper Collins: 2006) say that many psychopaths end up in the corporate world. They steal other’s jobs by ingratiating themselves with the bosses, negotiating the hiring process, inveigling themselves into high positions by depriving others who may earn these positions by performance, superior qualifications and contributions to the workplace. These psychopaths, according to the authors, may “just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car… they could appear to be strong, naive, dominant, honest, submissive, trustworthy, worldly, or whatever he or she believes will get others to respond positively to manipulative overtures”.
Perhaps the most dangerous snake in a suit is what author Aaron James calls an “asshole”. In his book “Assholes: A Theory” (published in October 2012) James, a Ph.D (Harvard) philosopher who is an Associate Professor, University of California, Ervine, has an implied analogy which matches the profile of a snake in a suit. James writes that assholes populate the vast moral middle ground between the two (rapists and murderers) . They are more than the average schmuck one finds in the workplace and act out of a deep-rooted sense of entitlement, a habitual and persistent belief that they deserve special treatment. The true asshole, James writes, “is immunized by his sense of entitlement against the complaints of other people. He is narcissistic, self-absorbed, impolite, and permanently thoughtless to those around him—and it is almost always a him—nearly to the point of sociopathy” ( here I disagree as there are females who fit into this category as well) .
Sociopathy is defined as a condition which makes a person lack moral responsibility and social consciousness. A psychopath, which a snake in a suit is, is defined as a person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behaviour without empathy or remorse. By simple deduction therefore, logic has it that definitively, there is almost no distinguishing line between a snake in a suit and an asshole.
From a scientific perspective, the above discussion may be a trifle unfair by the unobtrusive, humble snake. Beverly Hill writes: “snakes are one of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet. The folklore surrounding the snake would have people believe that they are sinister, evil creatures hell-bent on sinking their fangs into an unsuspecting victim, when in truth they have much more to fear from humans”. On the other hand, a viper is an extremely dangerous reptile, and fits the bill as a predator in an office environment. It has been recorded that vipers are capable of making decisions on how much venom to inject depending on the circumstances. In all cases, the most important determinant of venom expenditure is generally the size of the snake, with larger specimens being capable of delivering much more venom. The species is also important, since some are likely to inject more venom than others, may have more venom available, strike more accurately, or deliver a number of bites in a short space of time. Translated to the workplace, this is exactly what snakes in suits do.
Like the viper, the snake in a suit makes sure that the victim or the prey is assessed beforehand and the amount of venom injected is based on the size of the prey, the species of prey, and whether the prey is held or released. The need to label prey for chemosensory relocation after a bite and release may also play a role. In defensive bites, the amount of venom injected may be determined by the size or species of the predator (or antagonist), as well as the assessed level of threat, although larger assailants and higher threat levels may not necessarily lead to larger amounts of venom being injected.
Notwithstanding the above, there is a fundamental difference between snakes (be they vipers or cobras), and insidious colleagues in the workplace. The former attack only when cornered or when their security is threatened, while the latter attacks for gain or simply the pleasure of cutting one’s throat. Reptiles are not known to be jealous of one another. They eat and drink only when they are hungry and thirsty and keep their mouths shut when not engaging in these two activities. Therefore they cannot carry tales to the boss, cannot put one against another, take credit for the work of a colleague and ruin or threaten the career development of their colleague.
The answer towards eliminating this perfidious specimen from the workplace lies with the bosses. Any institution which has a code of ethics should have, as the opposite of whistle blowing (which is usually encouraged) the offence of tale-carrying. Another unethical behavior should be lack of transparency in making appointments and there should be insistence that appointments are made on the basis of superior performance and qualifications. The unjust enrichment of one at the expense of another, which devastates the career path of the latter, should be a grave offence calling for restitution and punishment of both the person who is responsible for the appointment and the invidious appointee who influences such appointment. Any form of political influence or pressure should be condemned and action taken accordingly against the perpetrators.
Workplaces should also identify human rights. A right is something due to a person by just claim, legal guarantee or moral principle. It is a power, privilege or immunity accrued to a person by law and is a legally enforceable claim that another will do or will not do a given act. It is also a recognized and protected interest, the violation of which is wrong. Therefore, the starting point should be in the words “just claim” “legal guarantee and “moral principle”. These claims and guarantees based on moral principles should be justiciable.
Of course the psychopaths and sociopaths in the workplace would be impervious to these basic rights.
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