Why Narcissists Have Higher Salaries & Psychopaths Get Hired Faster, According To An Organizational Psychologist

Corporate structures exist as a cog in the economic machine. A business needs to make money, after all. But with wealth comes power and that often translates into employers who reward employees with a similar mindset — whether they realize it or not.

Organizational psychologist Dr. Anna Kallschmidt recently explained on TikTok that it’s often narcissists and psychopaths who succeed in business seemingly without even trying. Her theory centers on the fact that “They’re assertive, they’re charming, they have charisma … They know how to turn it on and off.”

Dr. Kallschmidt said workplaces often favor narcissistic and psychopathic employees both in hiring and compensation.

Some people seem to thrive at work as if they are able to wear their professional persona like a second skin. While the fundamental skills to perform any job are necessary, Kallschmidt explained that the catch-22 when it comes to employees with personality disorders is that they can make an amazing first impression, leading higher-ups to have a "gut instinct" that they are making a good hire. This is especially true for narcissists who will always try to make themselves look good, usually at the expense of others.

So, for narcissists and psychopaths, that can easily turn charisma “on and off,” charming employers and leaders is quite easy. That means they get hired and earn raises and promotions without performance-based evidence.

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Research suggests narcissists move to feed their egos and make themselves look favorable whether they are actually performing or not.

Whether it’s their constant pursuit of power or simply the ability to over-promote themselves compared to co-workers, narcissistic employees have been shown to make more money in their roles. 

Not only do they tend to make more money, but they’re also 29% more likely to be promoted or quickly scale the corporate ladder.

Kallschmidt didn't mince words when she said both narcissistic and psychopathic traits are related to "low levels of trustworthiness" and "low levels of honesty and fairness," but those traits only factor into dealings with colleagues who hold little to no weight in what upper management "sees," so to speak.

Despite often having similarly objective measures of success and achievements in the workplace, narcissists’ self-promotion abilities help them craft an “inflated” version of themselves—a more confident, successful, and ambitious image than their co-workers. 

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Although most would argue these traits are inherently toxic, the corporate world rewards risk-takers who put success and earnings at the forefront.

With the right balance of charm and arrogance, they’re not only able to maintain surface-level connections with their co-workers but also beneficial transactional ones with their employers. That leads to more money, more opportunity, and of course, more praise and validation.

Psychopaths lack ‘empathy and guilt’ and act impulsively, meaning they’ll do anything to get ahead without remorse.

It's easy to take risks and make difficult decisions when you don't have empathy or guilt, and that translates into employees don't see co-workers as people. 

Psychopaths tend to act impulsively in their pursuit of power, and if those impulsive and sometimes questionable decisions prove right, they can be rewarded handsomely. It also means they are attracted to typically “ruthless” job industries and careers. 

With their ability to self-promote and even lie, they can get their foot in the door with charm and false charisma.

And, of course, as the story goes, once they make it to the top — they’re not going anywhere.

Kallschmidt's observations are sadly unsurprising and only reinforce negative views of corporate structures. The toxic succeed, the rich get richer, and the compassionate and kind fall short. 

Leaders and CEOs across industries are even 3 times more likely to be psychopaths than the average employee — they got there for a reason.

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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.