Dark Traits and the Workplace

Previous research has explored how the level of ‘Dark Traits’ influence a person’s work-place behaviour and career trajectories. However, to date, trait associations with different types of work-place have been neglected. The present study investigated differences in the levels of four Dark Traits at different hierarchical levels within both ‘for profit’ and ‘not for profit’ organisations and explored the associations between trait levels, work-place competitiveness and job satisfaction. 303 people from six UK-based organisations completed the Dark Triad Index, a 60-item instrument which investigates levels of sub-clinical psychopathy, Machiavellianism and sub-clinical positive and negative narcissism. The participants were also tested for their levels of job satisfaction and their perceptions of the competitiveness of their work environment. Significantly higher levels of Dark Traits were found in ‘for profit’ work environments when compared to ‘not for profit’ work environments. Significant differences in trait levels of positive narcissism were found between the different hierarchical levels within organisations but, unlike previous research, significant differences in levels of psychopathy and Machiavellianism were not found. Significant differences in trait levels between the genders were found for each of the Dark Triad traits, corroborating previous research. Subtle differences were also observed in the distribution of Dark Triad trait levels between gender and organisation type. Dark Trait levels were found to be positively correlated with perceptions of higher work-place competitiveness and negatively correlated with job satisfaction. A regression analysis demonstrated that Dark Triad trait levels comprise only a small part of the explanatory factors that influence levels of job satisfaction. These findings suggest that an understanding of Dark Triad trait levels of employees or potential employees can inform the understanding of Human Resource teams in organisations and assist their decision making on recruitment and development