Introduction: The dark triad personality traits, which include subclinical narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, have been linked to various negative workplace outcomes, such as bullying. Leaders play a crucial role in shaping organizational culture through their behavior, communication, and decision-making. Their personality traits - especially their dark traits - can give rise to dangerous organizational norms and behaviors. The relationship between leaders' (dark) personality traits, organizational culture, and employees' bullying experiences is still underexplored.
Purpose: This research aims to examine the interrelationships among leaders' perceived dark leadership traits, organizational culture, and workplace mobbing.
Method: The study sample comprised 301 employees from Hungary (M = 35.06, SD = 11.66, 78% women). Participants completed the Short Dark Triad Questionnaire (SD3-HU) to characterize their immediate leader and then completed two measures reflecting on their workplace experiences: the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS) and the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), which assesses workplace bullying.
Results: The findings revealed that all three dark traits (and especially psychopathy) perceived in the leader's personality were significantly associated with experiencing bullying insults. Regarding organizational culture, the Agreement dimension (part of the Consistency scale) of DOCS emerged as the strongest predictor of bullying. SEM analyses indicate that leaders' dark traits, mediated by specific organizational culture dimensions, are associated with workplace bullying.
Discussion and Practical Implications: The results highlight that, in bullying prevention, it may be necessary to monitor leaders' dark traits and organizational culture characteristics, as these may serve as risk factors. This research also shows how leadership traits can foster a culture that is conducive to abusive behaviors.