The rise of toxic workplace behaviors has drawn increasing attention from organizational behavior researchers, particularly regarding a cluster of personality traits known as the dark tetrad – narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and everyday sadism. First identified by Erin Buckels, Daniel Jones, and Delroy L. Paulhus as an expansion of the Dark Triad construct, these interrelated negative traits are predictors of workplace behavior. Of the fours, everyday sadism – the derivation of pleasure from another’s distress – is possibly the more disruptive trait to workplace harmony because individuals with sadistic tendencies often engage in subtle forms of workplace aggression, from targeted bullying to undermining of colleagues’ work. These behaviors, when left unchecked, can create a hostile work environment that undermines both individual and organizational effectiveness.
Individuals with dark tetrad traits often present a complex challenge for organizations, particularly during hiring and promotion processes. These individuals may initially appear as strong performers, displaying charisma, confidence, and creative problem-solving abilities. Their risk-taking tendencies and strategic thinking can create short-term wins. However, over time, patterns of workplace behavior often emerge. These can include resource hoarding, strategic manipulation of information, and the cultivation of political influence for personal gain. As their position becomes more secure, their behaviors may become increasingly counterproductive: degrading work quality, undermining collaborative efforts, and exercising aggressive control over subordinates. Their sense of superiority and dismissive view of others’ capabilities can create toxic team dynamics and compromise organizational effectiveness.
Recent research underscores the critical importance of empathy in leadership effectiveness. A notable Businessolver study demonstrates that employees place such high value on empathetic leadership that they are willing to accept longer hours and lower compensation when working under empathetic managers. This finding highlights a particular challenge with dark tetrad personalities in leadership positions, as they characteristically lack affective empathy – the ability to understand and share others’ emotional experiences. While their combination of intelligence, interpersonal skills, and ambition often enables their professional advancement, their leadership styles can significantly undermine organizational culture.
Among the dark tetrad traits, each manifests differently in leadership contexts. Narcissistic leaders, for instance, may demonstrate strong work commitment driven by their sense of self-importance and need for recognition. Their desire for admiration can occasionally align with organizational goals, particularly in performance management, though their methods may prioritize personal validation over team development. In contrast, leaders with pronounced sadistic or psychopathic tendencies typically display more destructive behavioral patterns, characterized by intentional creation of workplace conflict and systematic erosion of team cohesion. These traits obviously present unique challenges for organizations, for example because the impact may only become apparent once the individual is securely in a leadership position.
Research into everyday sadism has yielded important insights about how these behavioral patterns manifest. A study by Erin Buckels of the University of Winnipeg and coauthors examined participants’ willingness to engage in unpleasant or potentially harmful tasks. The study’s 78 participants were presented with options including exposure to cold water, cleaning tasks, and bug extermination. The findings revealed that individuals scoring high on sadistic tendencies were significantly more likely to choose tasks that involved causing harm, even when alternative options were available. Furthermore, Carla Harenski of Mind Research Network and coauthors found that such individuals experience increased frontotemporal activity when viewing images of others in distress.
These individuals strategically select their targets and may operate through both in-person and online channels.
It’s crucial for organizations to understand that everyday sadism exists in the workplace and that it can manifest as subtle patterns of behavior such as the deliberate undermining colleagues, excessive control over subordinates, or deriving satisfaction from others’ professional difficulties.
It might seem obvious that a professional’s trajectory would correlate with increased emotional intelligence, but research from Alan Diógenes Góis of FIPECAFI and FGV EAESP in Brazil, and coauthors, challenges this assumption, particularly regarding dark tetrad traits. Their study indicates that education and experience do not prevent sadistic tendencies in supervisory roles. In workplace settings, these behaviors manifest through both passive and active forms of aggression: spreading rumors, engaging in mockery, targeted bullying, and deliberate undermining of others. These individuals strategically select their targets and may operate through both in-person and online channels. Their unprovoked aggressive behaviors, coupled with a lack of remorse, can create a particularly taxing environment for employees and coworkers.
In the workplace, sadistic behaviors manifest both passively and actively. These range from indirect actions – such as spreading rumors and engaging in mockery – to direct bullying and trolling. They strategically select their targets and operate both in-person and online, often preferring digital channels where they can remain anonymous. These individuals show unprovoked aggression without remorse, creating a hostile work environment.
Heng Li of Sichuan International Studies University investigated the relationship between boredom and sadistic behavior in that the pandemic saw an increase in such tendencies as a way to overcome boredom arising from Covid-19 exposure. Furthermore, Tobias Greitemeyer of the University of Innsbruck, with his coauthors, found that individuals with sadistic tendencies especially like to play violent video games and, in fact, benefit emotionally from doing so.
Researchers have not identified a definitive explanation for the prevalence of dark tetrad traits in contemporary times, though several theories have been proposed to provide understanding. One theory, from Victor Nell of the Institute for Social and Health Sciences, examines humanity’s hunter-gatherer origins, where hunting served both nutritional and non-nutritional purposes. This pain-blood-death complex suggests that predatory behavior patterns – involving prey’s distress signals, blood, and death – became ingrained in the collective unconscious, potentially leading to unconscious harm of others.
Melissa McDonald and colleagues at Michigan State University propose a life history strategy theory, an extension of Darwin’s evolutionary theory. This theory describes how organisms choose between fast and slow strategies in raising offspring. Fast strategies involve producing more offspring with less energy investment and early maturation, while slow strategies involve fewer offspring with more energy investment and gradual maturation. While humans typically follow slow strategies, difficult childhood circumstances may lead instead to fast strategies. According to Peter Jonason of the University of Western Sydney and his coathors, there is a relationship between fast life history strategies and dark personalities, and it stems from a coping mechanism that is of survival benefit to the individual and thus a positive.
Since education and experience levels do not prevent sadistic tendencies, and these individuals often display initial charm and confidence that can aid their advancement, recognizing their presence in the workplace presents a significant challenge. These traits can manifest through both passive and active forms of aggression, from spreading rumors and engaging in mockery to more direct forms of bullying. As research during COVID-19 demonstrated, even environmental factors like boredom can trigger these behaviors. When left unchecked, these individuals create hostile work environments that become particularly taxing for employees and coworkers.
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