There are three types of ruthlessness – but only two will help you succeed at work

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Daniel Spurk, researcher at the University of Bern in Switzerland, split ruthlessness into three different traits – Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy – after studying 800 German employees across various industries. He asked participants to complete an online questionnaire measuring their response to questions like “I lack remorse,” and “I like others to pay attention to me.” The results, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science Journal and reported by the BBC, showed that people with narcissistic and Machiavellian personality traits were more likely to succeed, at least in some ways, than those with psychopathic traits. open image in gallery Narcissism: John Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men Narcissism Narcissism, more than the other two traits, could lead to better earnings, Spurk’s research suggested. “Although people who don’t know them very well think they are charismatic, in the mid-to-long term there might be situations where people are no longer fascinated by their behaviour,” Spurk said.