Personality Traits of Workplace Bullies: How to Spot Them

Workplace power harassment (harassment in general, bullying) is a major problem that makes the work environment unpleasant and harms the mental and physical health of employees.

A study conducted in Sweden titled “Workplace bullies, not their victims, score high on the Dark Triad and Extraversion, and low on Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility” revealed the personality differences and commonalities between those who commit power harassment and those who are subjected to it.

This research specifically examines how personality traits called the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) and the HEXACO personality model (including honesty-humility, agreeableness, extraversion, etc.) are related to power harassment behavior.

Understanding personality traits based on the HEXACO personality model helps us know ourselves and others more deeply.

This allows us to understand how our personality functions in the workplace and becomes a step toward creating a better work environment.

Now let’s examine workplace power harassment and bullying through this research.

Once again, personality researcher and author of Villain Encyclopedia, Tokiwa (@etokiwa999), will provide the explanation.
※We have developed the HEXACO-JP Personality Assessment! It has more scientific basis than MBTI. Tap below for details.

Overview of Workplace Power Harassment

What is workplace power harassment and bullying?

Workplace power harassment and bullying are continuous harassment and aggressive behaviors by one or multiple individuals.

This manifests in various forms, including psychological and physical. Workplace power harassment and bullying can become serious problems.

When power harassment and bullying occur, not only is the victim’s psychological health damaged, but it can also negatively affect workplace productivity. Specific forms of bullying are listed below.

• Verbal harassment: Bad-mouthing, insults, inappropriate jokes, etc.
• Social exclusion: Acts of ostracizing or not sharing information.
• Physical attacks: Direct attacks on the body, from minor to serious.
• Psychological pressure: Imposing unreasonable demands or extreme pressure.

Furthermore, the effects of power harassment are not limited to individuals but also affect the overall workplace atmosphere and teamwork.

Ultimately, workplace power harassment can cause stress not only to victims but also to those around them.

Therefore, power harassment is an important issue for both individuals and organizations.

Common Forms and Effects of Power Harassment and Bullying

Power harassment and bullying take various forms, each of which can have serious effects on the workplace.

These behaviors cause psychological stress and decreased workplace productivity. The main forms are shown below.

• Verbal attacks: Harassment using words such as verbal abuse, threats, and sarcasm.
• Social exclusion: Intentional exclusion from information sharing and isolation from groups.
• Work interference: Excessive work burdens and intentional obstruction of work.

These behaviors cause mental stress and anxiety in victims, which can ultimately lead to workplace turnover and health problems.

The effects of power harassment and bullying negatively affect not only individuals but also the atmosphere and performance of the entire organization.

Recognition and Reporting of Power Harassment and Bullying

Power harassment and bullying are often overlooked problems, but accurate recognition and appropriate reporting are extremely important.

The steps for correctly recognizing and addressing inappropriate behavior in the workplace are as follows.

• Education and training: It is important to educate employees about power harassment and bullying and learn how to recognize and report it.
• Establishing reporting systems: Create an environment where employees can easily report problems by establishing safe and anonymous reporting systems.
• Quick response to problems: By responding quickly and fairly to reported problems, the right message is sent to other employees.

With proper recognition and reporting systems in place, power harassment and bullying can be reduced, protecting workplace safety and health.

An environment where employees can work with peace of mind directly contributes to improving the morale and productivity of the entire organization.

Dark Triad and Workplace Power Harassment

Characteristics of Machiavellians and Power Harassment

Machiavellian characteristics are greatly related to workplace power harassment.

Machiavellian refers to calculating individuals who will use any means necessary to achieve their goals.

Their behavioral characteristics include the following.

• Goal-oriented: They may use others to achieve their own objectives.
• Manipulative: They try to maintain their position and interests by manipulating others.
• Information manipulation: They may manipulate information to be advantageous to themselves.

People with these characteristics tend to become perpetrators of power harassment and may worsen interpersonal relationships and the environment in the workplace by using others for their own purposes.

Understanding the influence of Machiavellianism and taking countermeasures is extremely important for maintaining a healthy workplace environment.

マキャベリアニズムとは？特徴や付き合い方を論文で解説

The Relationship Between Psychopathy and Power Harassment

Psychopathy is characterized by callousness and impulsivity, making it an important factor in power harassment.

People with psychopathy have a lack of empathy and a tendency to manipulate others, which can promote their bullying behavior.

The characteristics of psychopathy include the following points.

• Lack of empathy: Poor ability to empathize with other people’s emotions or situations.
• Impulsive behavior: Tendency to act before thinking and disregard future consequences.

These personality traits can potentially cause problems, especially in interpersonal relationships within teams.

Individuals with psychopathy often exhibit self-centered behavior and attitudes that disregard others, which can become a source of stress and tension in the workplace.

Understanding the influence of psychopathy and taking countermeasures is extremely important for maintaining workplace safety and productivity.

To maintain a healthy workplace environment, it is necessary to address such problematic behaviors and provide appropriate support and guidance.

What Is a Psychopath? 7 Traits, Tests & How to Deal With One

The Impact of Narcissism on Power Harassment

Narcissism is related to power harassment through self-centered behavior and lack of consideration for others.

Narcissists tend to overestimate their own charm and abilities, and try to enhance their own status and evaluation by using others. The forms of bullying arising from this personality trait include the following.

• Criticism and blame: Often critical and aggressive toward people with different opinions or styles from their own.
• Abuse of power: Use their position or status to try to place others under their control.
• Conformity pressure: Force their own thoughts and opinions on others and socially exclude those with different ideas.

Narcissists attempt to dominate their surroundings while maintaining their sense of superiority through these behaviors. This can become a cause of tension and conflict in interpersonal relationships within the workplace.

Understanding the impact of narcissism on power harassment is important for building healthy communication and cooperative relationships in the workplace.

This will help develop strategies to suppress narcissistic traits and maintain healthy relationships in the workplace.

ナルシストはどんな人？特徴や付き合い方を論文で解説！

Individual Comparison of the Dark Triad

People with Dark Triad traits each affect the workplace environment in their own unique ways.

The Dark Triad consists of three personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

These traits have the following differences.

• Narcissism: Strong self-love with a tendency to use others for their own purposes.
• Machiavellianism: Cool and calculating, pursuing their own interests by manipulating people.
• Psychopathy: Characterized by lack of emotion, with low sympathy for others.

By understanding these personality traits, it becomes possible to prevent inappropriate behavior and conflicts in the workplace and establish more effective countermeasures.

Approaches tailored to individual traits are essential for creating a healthy workplace environment.

Dark Triad and Other Personality Traits

Dark Triad personality traits have a unique impact on the workplace environment even when compared to other personality traits.

These personality traits differ from general personality traits and can create significant differences, particularly in workplace interpersonal relationships.

The main comparison points are shown below.

• Self-centeredness and egoism: The Dark Triad is more self-centered and egotistic than other personality traits.
• Frequency of conflicts and confrontations: People with these traits often have many conflicts with other employees and frequently cause confrontations.
• Emotional Expression: It is common to not show emotions outwardly and to take calm, calculating actions.

Understanding the characteristics of the Dark Triad and grasping how these influence the workplace environment helps maintain a healthy work environment.

By implementing appropriate countermeasures, these negative impacts can be minimized.

How to Spot the Dark Tetrad! 4 Types of Bad People Explained

HEXACO Model and Power Harassment

The Role of Honesty-Humility

The “Honesty-Humility” dimension of the HEXACO model can serve as an important mitigating factor against power harassment in the workplace.

People with high honesty-humility tend to respect others and act fairly. This personality trait is believed to have an effect in preventing power harassment in the workplace.

Specifically, it has the following impacts:

• Fairness: People with high honesty-humility tend to make fair judgments in the workplace and avoid prejudice.
• Cooperation and Teamwork: They value cooperation with others and strive to maintain harmony within the team.
• Ethical Behavior: They are sensitive to ethical issues and actively speak up against misconduct and unfair treatment.

Through these traits, workplaces with high honesty-humility reduce the risk of power harassment and create an environment where employees can work with peace of mind.

Valuing such principles in workplace culture and policies benefits all employees.

What is Honesty-Humility? HEXACO & MBTI Connections

The Impact of Agreeableness and Power Harassment

People with low agreeableness are said to be more likely to engage in power harassment behaviors in the workplace.

“Agreeableness” in this context is one of the personality traits in the HEXACO model that enables building good relationships with others.

People with low levels of this trait often tend to take self-centered and aggressive actions.

How low agreeableness affects bullying is explained in the following points:

• Interpersonal Conflicts: Self-centered behavior causes frequent conflicts with others.
• Uncooperative Attitude: They may refuse to cooperate in team activities and collaborative work.
• Criticism and Attacks on Others: They believe their opinions and methods are superior and despise others.

These behaviors can deteriorate interpersonal relationships in the workplace and negatively impact the overall organizational atmosphere.

Additionally, people with low agreeableness prioritize their own interests and often exploit others, which can lead to bullying behaviors.

Understanding how low agreeableness relates to bullying is an important step in promoting a healthy workplace environment and reducing bullying.

It is desirable to focus on this trait and implement measures to improve interpersonal relationships in the workplace and prevent bullying.

What is Agreeableness? Big Five, MBTI F vs T Relations

Correlation Between Extraversion and Power Harassment

People with high extraversion may be involved in power harassment behaviors in the workplace.

Extraversion is a personality trait that indicates sociability and assertiveness, and is usually considered to have a positive impact.

However, research has shown that when this personality trait is high, it can also be related to bullying behaviors.

How extraversion affects bullying is shown below:

• Domineering Behavior: Assertive and domineering personality can lead to behavior that suppresses others.
• Seeking Attention: They prefer to always be the center of attention, and in the process may disregard others.
• Strong Sociability: By actively engaging with people, they sometimes apply pressure to push through their own opinions.

These traits can increase the risk of conflicts and bullying developing in workplace interpersonal relationships, especially in environments where competition within groups is intense.

For highly extraverted people to channel their sociability in a positive direction, it is important to consider the opinions and feelings of others.

By understanding how high extraversion relates to bullying, we can promote healthy social activities in the workplace and implement strategies to prevent bullying.

This aims to create an environment where all employees can work with peace of mind.

What is Extraversion? Big Five, MBTI E vs I Connection

HEXACO Model Predictions

The HEXACO model is an important tool that helps predict workplace bullying and harassment.

This model comprehensively evaluates individual personality traits, with dimensions such as honesty-humility, agreeableness, and extraversion being particularly linked to workplace bullying behaviors.

The following points explain bullying predictions using the HEXACO model.

• Honesty-Humility: People high in this trait tend to act fairly without exploiting others.
• Agreeableness: Emphasizes cooperation with others and avoiding conflicts.
• Extraversion: A sociable and active personality, but when excessive, it can overwhelm others.

Understanding these personality traits deepens insights into workplace relationships and interpersonal problems.

It also becomes possible to predict environments where employees with particularly high or low personality traits are more likely to engage in bullying behavior.

Using the HEXACO model enables more effective planning and implementation of countermeasures for workplace bullying problems.

By utilizing this model, it is expected to realize a more harmonious workplace environment and provide concrete means to reduce bullying.

Please see here for an overview of the HEXACO model.

What is HEXACO? Overview, Genetics, Diagnosis & MBTI Relations

The Intersection of HEXACO and Dark Triad

When honesty-humility is low, the connection with Dark Triad traits strengthens.

When analyzing personality traits related to workplace bullying, individuals with low scores on “honesty-humility” in the HEXACO model often show strong correlations with Dark Triad traits.

The main points are organized below.

• Low “honesty-humility” is associated with self-centered and manipulative behavior.
• Employees low in this trait tend to exploit others to pursue their own interests.
• In workplace harassment, these employees often take more aggressive and dominant roles.

Such information helps organizations manage workplace relationships and identify potential problems in advance.

Furthermore, it is important for HR departments and management to pay attention to employees with these traits and implement appropriate intervention measures.

Accurately identifying employees assessed as having low honesty-humility and understanding the impact their behavior has on the workplace environment is essential for reducing harassment and achieving a healthier workplace environment.

Research Cases and Results of Workplace Harassment

Research Background and Participants

The research introduced here provides detailed explanations of the background and participant information regarding workplace harassment and bullying.

The research setting is a small town in southwestern Sweden.

• Target organizations: 5 different workplaces
• Number of participants: 172 people (from 177 potential participants)
• Response rate: 97.6%
• Average age: 38 years old

Participants from various backgrounds provided valuable data for harassment research.

Research Methods and Approach

This research employed methods to measure harassment behaviors and victim experiences. The research methodology included questionnaire surveys and detailed personality assessments.

• Tools used:
  • Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R): Measures harassment and bullying victimization.
  • Negative Acts Questionnaire-Perpetrators (NAQ-P): Measures harassment and bullying behaviors.
  • Short Dark Triad (SD3): Measures Dark Triad personality traits.
  • Mini-International Personality Item Pool 6 (Mini-IPIP6): Measures HEXACO personality traits.

Using these measurement tools, we examined how participants’ power harassment and bullying behaviors and victimization experiences, as well as personality traits, are related.

Furthermore, an approach was taken to conduct statistical analysis from this data and verify hypotheses.

Ultimately, the methods and approaches of this research provide a foundation for clarifying the psychological factors behind workplace bullying and power harassment, and deriving more effective intervention strategies.

Key Findings and Their Significance

The main finding obtained from the research is that the personality traits behind power harassment have been revealed.

The following points are cited as important achievements.

• Dark Triad and Power Harassment: It was confirmed that Machiavellianism and psychopathy are strong predictors of power harassment. These two alone can explain 40% of workplace power harassment.
• HEXACO Model and Power Harassment: It was shown that low honesty-humility and high extraversion are predictors of power harassment.
• Relationship Between Power Harassment and Victimization: The two sides of the same coin of power harassment were demonstrated, showing that perpetrators of power harassment can simultaneously be victims.

These findings are extremely important for understanding power harassment and developing countermeasures.

In particular, understanding that personality traits such as Machiavellianism and psychopathy are closely related to bullying behavior will be useful in developing prevention and response measures.

These insights gained from the research help create specific action plans to reduce workplace bullying and power harassment and promote a healthier workplace environment.

Research Limitations and Criticisms

While this research provides valuable insights, several limitations also exist. The main points are listed below.

• Sample Size and Scope: The study was limited to certain regions in Sweden, making it difficult to generalize the results to other regions or cultures.
• Reliability of Self-Report Data: Survey-based data depends on participants’ subjectivity, which may introduce bias.
• Measurement of Personality Traits: The personality measurement tools used do not completely cover all aspects of personality, and other important traits may have been overlooked.

These limitations require caution in interpreting research results, so future research is required to improve these points.

Overall, while this research provides important data on workplace bullying and power harassment, caution is required when generalizing its results.

Understanding these limitations and taking countermeasures is the key to obtaining more accurate and effective research results.

Theoretical Implications of Power Harassment in the Workplace

The Relationship Between Power Harassment and Personality in the Workplace

Workplace bullying and power harassment are strongly related to specific personality traits.

This research clarified how the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) and HEXACO model traits are related to bullying behavior.

• Dark Triad: Personality traits strongly related to power harassment. Machiavellianism and psychopathy in particular function as predictors of bullying behavior.
• HEXACO Model: It was shown that people with low honesty-humility are more likely to engage in power harassment. The same applies to people with high extraversion.

Understanding that specific personality traits influence power harassment is extremely important when designing prevention and intervention measures in the workplace.

This not only effectively reduces bullying but also leads to improving the workplace environment.

By understanding personality traits, it becomes possible to approach the root causes of power harassment and provide more specific and practical solutions.

This knowledge becomes an important step toward maintaining healthy human relationships in the workplace.

The Importance and Application of Personality Assessment

Personality assessment in the workplace is extremely important for preventing and managing power harassment.

Accurate personality assessment makes it possible to identify individuals with tendencies toward power harassment in advance.

• Utilizing personality assessment in the recruitment process: When selecting new employees, incorporating personality assessment can identify individuals who may disrupt workplace harmony in advance.
• Employee training programs: By implementing training based on personality assessment, individual employees can deepen their self-awareness and improve their interpersonal skills.
• Optimizing team composition: Using personality assessment, it is possible to understand team dynamics and plan effective team composition.

Introducing personality assessment in the workplace not only reduces power harassment but also provides opportunities for each employee to promote self-growth and improve overall workplace productivity.

It is important to utilize personality assessment to realize a more harmonious workplace environment and enable all employees to work in a safe and supportive environment.

Characteristics of Power Harassment Victims and Countermeasures

There are personality traits that make one more likely to become a victim of power harassment.

According to this study, it shows that people with high introversion (low extroversion) and neurotic traits are particularly likely to become victims.

• High introversion: Introverted people may be passive in social situations and not defensive against aggressive behavior.
• Neuroticism: People who are prone to tension and vulnerable to stress have difficulty coping with interpersonal pressure. In the HEXACO model, this refers to a high state of “emotional stability,” and in the Big Five, it refers to high “neuroticism.”
• Low assertiveness: People who are poor at self-assertion find it difficult to protect their rights and are likely to become targets of bullying.

Understanding these personality traits is important for developing prevention and response strategies for workplace bullying.

Specific measures that could be considered include the following initiatives:

• Environmental improvement: Promote a supportive and open workplace environment where employees can safely share problems.
• Improving communication skills: Implement communication training for all employees to strengthen interpersonal skills including assertiveness techniques.
• Enhancing support systems: Provide counseling and support groups that victims can utilize and offer psychological assistance.

Through these initiatives, it is possible to reduce the risk of power harassment victims and support all employees to work in a healthy and productive workplace environment.

Practical Measures Against Workplace Power Harassment

Measures in Human Resource Management

Appropriate measures in human resource management are important for preventing and managing power harassment.

HR departments need to actively address power harassment issues, and it is recommended to implement the following strategies:

• Employee selection and screening: During new hiring, include personality assessments to identify individuals with tendencies toward power harassment in advance.
• Regular training: Provide regular training to all employees on prevention and response methods for power harassment.
• Clear guidelines and policies: Clarify the company’s policies regarding power harassment and define punishments for violations.

By implementing these measures, HR departments can establish a system to prevent power harassment and respond quickly when it occurs.

Additionally, supporting employees to work in a safe and healthy workplace environment leads to improved productivity and morale throughout the organization.

Appropriate measures in human resource management are essential for maintaining a healthy workplace environment and fostering a culture where all employees respect each other.

Development of Power Harassment Prevention Programs

Developing power harassment prevention programs is an effective means to fundamentally solve power harassment issues.

To address workplace power harassment problems, organization-wide efforts are necessary. The following approaches can be considered:

• Education and awareness: Implement educational programs for all employees about the definition, impact, and response methods for power harassment and bullying.
• Anonymous reporting system: Establish a system where employees can safely report problems.
• Regular surveys: Conduct regular surveys to understand the workplace atmosphere and the presence of power harassment and bullying.

By developing these programs, awareness of workplace power harassment increases, making prevention and early detection possible.

Additionally, creating an environment where employees can easily discuss problems openly is key to problem resolution.

The ultimate goal is to build trust relationships in the workplace and provide an environment where healthy communication can take place through power harassment prevention programs.

When such initiatives function properly in the workplace, it becomes possible to realize a place where all employees can work with peace of mind.

Recommendations for Workplace Health Improvement

Workplace health improvement is essential to provide a safe and comfortable environment for all employees.

Building an effective workplace environment requires organization-wide efforts. The following are specific recommendations for this purpose:

• Strengthening leadership roles: Clear messages and actions from upper management shape workplace culture.
• Activities that encourage employee participation: Activate opinion exchange through workshops and meetings in which all employees participate.
• Health and wellness programs: Provide programs that support employee health, such as stress management and mental health support.

Through these initiatives, the workplace becomes a place where more open communication is possible, making it easier for employees to actively speak up about power harassment and other workplace issues.

Furthermore, when leaders actively engage and demonstrate correct behavioral models, workplace ethical standards are strengthened and a healthy workplace environment is promoted.

As a result, when these recommendations are implemented, it is expected that everyone in the workplace will be able to work in a productive and positive environment where they respect each other.

This becomes a practical step toward workplace health improvement.

モンスター社員とは？性格・職場環境・対策方法を解説

In Conclusion

Power harassment and bullying in the workplace are major problems that make the work environment unpleasant and harm the mental and physical health of employees.

A study conducted in Sweden titled “Workplace bullies, not their victims, score high on the Dark Triad and Extraversion, and low on Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility” revealed the personality differences and commonalities between bullies and their victims.

This research specifically examined how personality traits called the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) and the HEXACO personality model (including honesty-humility, agreeableness, extraversion, etc.) are related to bullying behavior.

Understanding personality traits based on the HEXACO personality model helps us gain deeper knowledge of ourselves and others.

If you want to know your own HEXACO personality traits, you should try taking a free psychological test available online. You can take the test here.

This will help you understand how your personality functions in the workplace and serve as a step toward creating a better work environment.