MACHIAVellIAnIsM, UnetHICAl BeHAVIoR, AnD Well-BeIng In ...

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186 DAHLING, KUyUMCU, AND LIBRIzzI test), as well as passive cheating (e.g., remaining silent when a bill is miscalculated in their favor; Bloodgood, Turnley, and Mudrack, 2010). Bloodgood, Turnley, and Mudrack (2010) also examined the effect that an ethics course would have on attitudes toward these types of cheating and found that the attitudes of highly Machiavellian participants toward passive cheating were unchanged after receiving the ethics training. The implications of this finding are that Machiavellians may indeed be immune to such ethics instruction. Bass, Barnett, and Brown (1999) identified several relationships between Machiavellianism and ethical orientations that explain why Machiavellians tend to employ these unethical tactics. For example, they found associations between Machiavellianism and relativism, which they defined as the degree to which one accepts or disregards universal moral principles when making decisions (Forsyth, 1980). They also suggested that Machiavellianism is inversely related to idealism, which refers to a tendency to seek balanced and favorable outcomes for all parties (Forsyth, 1980). Bass, Barnett, and Brown (1999) also confirmed that Machiavellians are less inclined to support social rules and follow authority. Given all of these findings concerning theft, lying, sabotage, and cheating, it is not surprising that Machiavellianism is one of the strongest trait predictors of unethical behavior in many contexts (Jones and Kavanagh, 1996). Unfortunately, these Machiavellian behaviors can pose a considerable risk to the well-being of organizational members in many respects. eFFeCts oF MACHIAVellIAn BeHAVIoR on Well-BeIng We have given evidence that Machiavellian behaviors are characteristically unethical and manipulative; here, we suggest that the nature of these behaviors is an important determinant of wellbeing in the workplace. Consistent with Giacalone and Promislo (2010), we define well-being in terms of both subjective elements (e.g., satisfaction and psychological appraisals of life events) and objective elements (e.g., physiological wellness, stress, and illness). From this perspective, well-being involves being satisfied with one’s work and nonwork circumstances, experiencing positive emotional states, and being healthy in the sense of freedom from psychological and physiological illnesses. Given that the unethical acts committed by Machiavellians can include a wide range of behaviors (e.g., stealing, lying, and cheating), it seems logical that Machiavellianism has a multidimensional effect on well-being, affecting not only the targets or victims of the behaviors but also work teams and the organization in a much more general sense (ibid.). Interestingly, because Machiavellianism is a personality construct, the perpetrator (i.e., the Machiavellian) should also experience significant detrimental effects on his/her own well-being resulting from this innate, amoral orientation and the actual execution of unethical acts. Unethical Behavior and the Well-Being of Machiavellian employees Although the effects of Machiavellian behaviors on others are well-established, less research has considered how the well-being of Machiavellians is impacted by their own unethical behavior. Moreover, much of the existing research on this topic shows inconsistent results, which may reflect differences in job type, organizational setting, or the level of career success among Machiavellian individuals (Jones and Paulhus, 2009). Nevertheless, some emergent trends in the literature suggest that Machiavellian employees may suffer more than they benefit from their orientation toward others with respect to lower satisfaction, higher anxiety, and compromised psychological well-being.
UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR, AND WELL-BEING IN ORGANIzATIONAL LIFE 187 Job and Career Satisfaction Research has shown that Machiavellianism is associated with higher levels of job strain and lower levels of self-reported satisfaction with both current jobs and overall career progress (Corzine, Buntzman, and Busch, 1999; Fehr, Samsom, and Paulhus, 1992; Gemmill and Heisler, 1972; Jones and Paulhus, 2009). For example, Gable and Topol (1988) found significant negative relationships between Machiavellianism and six different facets of job satisfaction (i.e., index of total job satisfaction, satisfaction with feedback and freedom, satisfaction with closure, satisfaction with variety, general job satisfaction, and satisfaction with career). Highly Machiavellian employees are thought to be less satisfied for a variety of reasons, such as their extrinsically oriented motivation system (McHoskey, 1999), their tendency to engage themselves in hostile and stressful situations (Gemmill and Heisler, 1972), or the worry that their careers have plateaued (Corzine, Buntzman, and Busch, 1999). A consequence of this perennial dissatisfaction is that Machiavellians are prone to frequent turnover from jobs in the search for more favorable employment circumstances (Wilson, Near, and Miller, 1996), which reduces their likelihood of becoming established and successful in a role. Anxiety In their review of the literature on Machiavellianism from 1971 to 1987, Fehr, Samson, and Paulhus (1992) found that Machiavellianism was consistently associated with anxiety. For example, Nigro and Galli (1985) illustrated that Machiavellianism was positively associated with both trait and state anxiety, which suggests that these individuals are not only inherently more anxious but are also more likely to experience anxiety when presented with psychologically stressful situations. The anxious feelings that highly Machiavellian people report may be related to their subjective reports of being envied by coworkers and their propensity to exhibit symptoms of paranoia and distrust of others (Vecchio, 2005). Psychological Well-Being and Emotional Experiences In terms of emotional well-being, Machiavellians tend to be less empathetic toward others and show symptoms that are broadly consistent with alexithymia, a sense of disconnectedness with respect to one’s own emotions (Andrew, Cooke, and Muncer, 2008; Wastell and Booth, 2003). Research also indicates a negative relationship between Machiavellianism and self-esteem, which may be related to research showing that Machiavellianism is distinct from other traits such as emotional intelligence, cognitive, and social skills (Austin et al., 2007; Dahling, Whitaker, and Levy, 2009; Jones and Paulhus, 2009; McHoskey et al., 1999). Machiavellianism has also been linked to low guilt-proneness, suggesting that although Machiavellians are consciously aware of their unethical behaviors and actions, they do not commonly express remorse for them (Wastell and Booth, 2003). Interestingly, it seems as if Machiavellians are aware of both their unethical tendencies and the effects of these behaviors on their own well-being. For example, McHoskey et al. (1999) found that Machiavellianism was negatively associated with self-reports of subjective well-being. An initial analysis of the relationship between Machiavellianism and the propensity to engage in unethical behaviors may lead one to believe that Machiavellianism is synonymous with other well-established personality disorders. It is important to understand that although Machiavellianism may overlap with these socially aversive personalities, such as narcissism and psychopathy, it is a distinct construct of psychopathology (Paulhus and Williams, 2002). For example, research has
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