Fatal attraction: possession becomes obsession.

• Author: Curry, Lynne
• Position: HR Matters

She seemed like any other employee, but she wasn't. She was an employer's worst nightmare. Within a three-month period, four employers called me reporting run-ins with "fatal attraction" employees. In each case, the story plays out like a television drama.

Said one, "This employee literally turned on me. We'd had a good work relationship and I'd pretty much allowed her to define how she'd handle her office-management job. I trusted her with everything. Then, when she didn't get her way on a minor matter, she turned it into a royal battle. Suddenly I could do nothing right. I was the worst manager she'd ever seen. We agreed she'd leave, but she begged to have two last weeks here. What I didn't know until later was that during those weeks she copied every file and every disk. She later concocted a bogus lawsuit with the material she stole."

Said another, "It was pure vengeance. I couldn't get her out of my life. She'd been my assistant for a year, and done a good job, but l needed to expand my business and she couldn't handle any other employees in her 'space.' When I told her she had to work with a second employee, she created an ugly scene and resigned. Then things got weird. It was as if she became obsessed with me. She called every former employee I'd ever supervised to see what 'patterns' she could find. She even followed my car when I drove home from work."

Although none of the four managers who called me agreed to be identified or taped, all agreed to answer questions. After conducting hour-long interviews, I learned each scenario shared similar features.

In each case, a single, attractive female employee with good job skills and few non-work interests worked for a charismatic manager. In each case, an intense, productive work relationship founded on mutual support became "a little too close" until it ended with a pivotal event that the employee considered a betrayal.

Each situation contained an element of perceived "possession." Said one employer, "This employee seemed to feel she 'owned' me in some unhealthy way. When I didn't do what she wanted, she got really cold for a day or two."

Said another, "She acted as if l was obligated to act as she dictated."

Said a third, "She obsessively criticized any other employees who were loyal to me. She drove other employees away."

According to each manager, they'd ignored initial trouble clues. Said one, "I was uneasy about how much time and energy she needed from me. At the same time, I was so...