Do We Know Who We Are Working With? – Organizational Paranoia and Corporate Psychopathy in Contemporary Organizations

This paper examines the phenomenon of organizational paranoia and its correlation with corporate psychopathy within the landscape of contemporary organizations. The objective is to theoretically and empirically delineate the boundary between adaptive suspiciousness and destructive forms of mistrust within an organizational context. The methodological approach is based on a qualitative, hermeneutic analysis of relevant theoretical frameworks from psychoanalysis, organizational psychology, and critical theory, supplemented by a secondary analysis of empirical research from the 2015–2025 period. The findings indicate that organizational paranoia does not represent a mere deviation, but rather an emergent property of modern organizational structures. It arises through the interaction of psychodynamic mechanisms (projection, splitting), leadership traits, and structural conditions such as surveillance, hierarchy, and epistemological asymmetry. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of leaders with psychopathic traits in destabilizing trust and fostering an organizational climate of fear. In conclusion, the paper problematizes the possibility of establishing psychological safety within organizations that operate through the logic of control and performative pressure, thereby opening avenues for further interdisciplinary research. Rad ispituje fenomen organizacione paranoje i njegovu povezanost sa korporativnom psihopatijom u savremenim organizacijama. Cilj rada je da teorijski i empirijski razjasni granicu između adaptivne sumnjičavosti i destruktivnih oblika nepoverenja u organizacionom kontekstu. Metodološki pristup zasniva se na kvalitativnoj, hermeneutičkoj analizi relevantnih teorijskih okvira iz psihoanalize, organizacione psihologije i kritičke teorije, uz sekundarnu analizu empirijskih istraživanja iz perioda 2015–2025. godine. Rezultati ukazuju da organizaciona paranoja ne predstavlja devijaciju, već emergentno svojstvo savremenih organizacionih struktura, koje nastaje u interakciji između psihodinamskih mehanizama (projekcija, splitting), liderskih karakteristika i strukturnih uslova poput nadzora, hijerarhije i epistemološke asimetrije. Posebno se ističe uloga lidera sa psihopatskim crtama u destabilizaciji poverenja i generisanju organizacione klime straha. Zaključno, rad problematizuje mogućnost izgradnje psihološke bezbednosti u kontekstu organizacija koje funkcionišu kroz logiku kontrole i performativnog pritiska, otvarajući prostor za dalja interdisciplinarna istraživanja.