[Dark personality traits at work]

Nowadays there has been an increase of scientific interest related to the dark triad of personality: Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism and subclinical psychopathy. In the last two decades several studies were published about the work related correlates of the dark personality traits. The aim of the current paper is to summarize and review these international and Hungarian research findings. After describing the dark personality traits, we review their effect on carrier choice, workplace behaviors, experiences, and attitudes. The connection between the dark triad traits and leadership effectiveness is also considered. A conclusion is drawn about the positive and negative consequences of hiring employees or leaders with high dark triad traits. On the basis of our review we can conclude that several correlates of the dark personality traits, like stress resistance, strategic thinking, charisma and persuasive communication can be advantageous from the perspective of an organisation. On the other hand, these traits can mean threats on the level of social relationships and organizational functionality. The possible ways of prevention and intervention are also described in the conclusion of this paper.