ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588364
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Heavy Work Investment: Multidimensional Constructs and Work Outcome VarianceView all 6 articles
Original research
Provisionally accepted
- University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Numerous studies have been conducted on the nexus between the Dark Triad personality traits and the influence thereof within the context of work. However, a paucity of studies underscores the interaction between these traits with career interests and success, particularly within the South African context. This study aimed to investigate the direct and indirect effect of the Dark Triad traits on career interest and career success.A quantitative approach utilising a cross-sectional design collected 406 responses from economically active participants using convenience sampling. The structured selfreported survey included the South African Career Interest Inventory (SACII-Short), The Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) and the Subjective Career Success Inventory (SCSI). Structural equation modelling (SEM) and moderation analysis were performed to examine the data.Results: Psychopathy had a statistically significant negative effect on both career interests and career success. Contrarily, narcissism did not have a statistically significant impact on either career interest or career success. Machiavellianism had a detrimental effect on career success but not career interest. The moderation analysis supported the hypothesis that psychopathy moderates the relationship between investigative career interest and career success negatively, underscoring the disruptive nature of this trait on career outcomes.: Organisations should practice caution when hiring or promoting individuals with Dark Triad traits, particularly in positions requiring collaboration, trust and long-term success. This could be achieved by integrating personality assessments such as the DTDD into leadership development, talent development and HR policies interventions to reduce the negative consequences of the mentioned attributes to career success.
Keywords: Dark triad traits, narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, career interests, Career success, moderation analysis
Received: 05 Mar 2025; Accepted: 07 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Oldewage and Jonck. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Petronella Jonck, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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