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).

中文翻译：

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了解职场欺凌者的心理：黑暗四分体的影响以及如何减轻它

目的

黑暗人格特质如何影响职场欺凌 (WB)？组织如何缓解这种情况？本研究旨在探讨黑暗四联体（DT）（自恋、精神病态[PY]、马基雅维利主义和施虐狂[SM]）与WB之间的关系，提出道德脱离（MD）的中介作用和情绪稳定的调节作用（英语）。

设计/方法论/途径

拟议的中介调节模型在巴基斯坦酒店业的 404 名员工身上进行了测试。通过回归分析和 PROCESS 宏对数据进行分析，以检验研究的假设。

发现

PY、马基雅维利主义和 SM 与 WB 呈正相关，MD 调节这种关系。高水平的 ES 降低了 PY、马基雅维利主义和 SM 对 WB 的中介影响的强度。

实际影响

制定有针对性的政策和实践（例如，通过性格测试来建立公司良好的心理架构）并审查支持反社会行为道德正当性的流程，可能有利于限制WB。此外，冥想、正念训练以及支持组织内的信任与合作可以增加 ES 的缓解效果，进而减少 WB。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这是第一项明确验证 DT-WB 上的中介调节模型的研究，同时提出了进一步的解释（即 MD 的中介）和新颖的解决方案（即 ES 的调节）。