The enemy within one's own ranks: Meta-analysis on the effects of psychopathy on workplace-related behavior

Despite the large and growing number of studies on psychopathy in the workplace, the field lacks a comprehensive understanding of the link between psychopathy and core workplace-related behaviors. Basing assumptions on social exchange theory, the purpose of this meta-analytic review (k = 166; N = 49,350) is (a) to test the relationship of psychopathy with task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behavior, (b) to differentiate the relationships of primary versus secondary psychopathy with these behaviors, and (c) to test for relevant moderating influences by actor- and target-/exchange-partner factors. In contrast to earlier significant but weak meta-analytic findings (O'Boyle et al., 2012), both meta-analytic overall effects and meta-analytic structural equation modeling suggest that psychopathy substantially reduces task performance and organizational citizenship behavior and enhances counterproductive work behavior. Compared to primary psychopathy, effects were mostly more pronounced for secondary psychopathy. Besides methodological factors, moderator analyses revealed relationships to vary by actor (age, organizational tenure, hierarchical level) but not by target. Together, these findings point toward new and relevant directions for future research on the effects of psychopathy in the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).