Hira Salah ud din Khan, Matteo Cristofaro, Muhammad Salman Chughtai and Silvia Baiocco
How do dark personality traits impact workplace bullying (WB)? How can organizations mitigate it? This study aims to explore the relationship between the Dark Tetrad (DT…
Abstract
Purpose
How do dark personality traits impact workplace bullying (WB)? How can organizations mitigate it? This study aims to explore the relationship between the Dark Tetrad (DT) (narcissism, psychopathy [PY], Machiavellianism and sadism [SM]) and WB, proposing the mediation role of moral disengagement (MD) and the moderation role of emotional stability (ES).
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed mediated-moderation model was tested on 404 employees working in the hospitality sector in Pakistan. Data have been analyzed through regression analysis and PROCESS macros to test the study’s hypotheses.
Findings
PY, Machiavellianism and SM positively relate to WB and MD mediates this relationship. A high level of ES reduces the intensity of the mediated influence of PY, Machiavellianism and SM on WB.
Practical implications
Developing targeted policies and practices (e.g. personality tests to build a good psychological architecture of the firm) and reviewing processes that support the moral justification of antisocial conduct can be beneficial for limiting WB. In addition, meditation, mindfulness training and supporting trust and cooperation within organizations can increase the mitigating effect of ES and, in turn, reduce WB.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explicitly verifies a mediated-moderation model on DT-WB while proposing a further explanation (i.e. mediation of MD) and a novel solution (i.e., moderation by ES).