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A review by bethreadsandnaps
Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work by Paul Babiak
4.0
I had this nonfiction book on my TBR for a while because I chose it for a challenge last year (snake on the cover), and I ended up reading a different book with a snake on the cover. All of this is to say that I didn't read this because I thought I work with a psychopath. I just thought it would be interesting!
And it was! There were case studies, background information, a fictionalized play that is carried throughout, and tips on what to do if you experience a psychopath at work - or even in any area of your life because there were other examples too.
Two dings:
1. I wish studies/research had been footnoted. There was a "Notes" section at the end, but I tend to appreciate being able to pull up a study cited at the time of its mention. The writing was very conversational, with vague "studies" thrown in without any specifics that I could look up. Without footnotes, or even notes at the end of each chapter, this was frustrating.
2. The writing is a bit dated, which is fine, but I would have appreciated some mention of biases when hiring. The book details that psychopaths slip by the hiring process because they are charming and appeal to the interviewer without having actual substance. So I would have appreciated more awareness shined on how interviewers need to "check" themselves. In some ways the book took the long way around to get to that point, but I would have appreciated a call out to biases of interviewers, including the "like me" bias - biases that also contribute to systemic racism in hiring. (I know it's a different topic, but it's similar with regard to biases.)
And it was! There were case studies, background information, a fictionalized play that is carried throughout, and tips on what to do if you experience a psychopath at work - or even in any area of your life because there were other examples too.
Two dings:
1. I wish studies/research had been footnoted. There was a "Notes" section at the end, but I tend to appreciate being able to pull up a study cited at the time of its mention. The writing was very conversational, with vague "studies" thrown in without any specifics that I could look up. Without footnotes, or even notes at the end of each chapter, this was frustrating.
2. The writing is a bit dated, which is fine, but I would have appreciated some mention of biases when hiring. The book details that psychopaths slip by the hiring process because they are charming and appeal to the interviewer without having actual substance. So I would have appreciated more awareness shined on how interviewers need to "check" themselves. In some ways the book took the long way around to get to that point, but I would have appreciated a call out to biases of interviewers, including the "like me" bias - biases that also contribute to systemic racism in hiring. (I know it's a different topic, but it's similar with regard to biases.)