Dark triad traits and career adaptability: the mediating role of political skill

Abstract

Background

This study investigated the mechanism through which the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) relate to career adaptability. While previous research primarily focused on the role of bright traits in enhancing career adaptability, the potential benefits of dark traits on career adaptability have often been overlooked. By integrating career construction theory (CCT) and conservation of resources theory (COR), this study proposed that adaptive readiness, operationalized in terms of the Dark Triad traits, would be related to career adaptability through political skill, offering a novel perspective on how dark traits, like the Dark Triad, can be related to career adaptability.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a three-wave survey (N = 307) with two-week intervals between each wave. In the first wave, we collected demographic information and measured the Dark Triad traits. In the second wave, we assessed political skill, and in the third wave, we measured career adaptability. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Additionally, a bootstrap test with 10,000 resamples was employed to examine the mediating role of political skill.

Results

The Dark Triad traits were significantly linked to career adaptability through political skill. Specifically, Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively associated with career adaptability, while psychopathy showed a negative association. Political skill acted as a mediator in the relationships between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability.

Conclusions

The relationship between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability manifests both positively and negatively, with political skill serving as a key mediator. These findings extend CCT by revealing the mechanism connecting career readiness and career adaptability, grounded in COR. Additionally, this study suggests that researchers should not limit themselves to exploring strategies for enhancing career adaptability through positive traits but should also consider the potential of negative traits.

Introduction

Today, we live in a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world [1]. COVID-19 brings more challenges to the workplace [2]. Career transitions are becoming more frequent and intricate, with career development growing increasingly unpredictable [3]. Career adaptability, defined as individuals’ capacity to effectively navigate career development tasks, occupational shifts, and work challenges [4], can help individuals to manage career transitions and achieve success [3]. Therefore, exploring the antecedences of career adaptability is important.

CCT suggests that adaptive readiness—the willingness to tackle career tasks, transitions, and challenges with appropriate responses [3]—is a key foundation of career adaptability [4], with personality being an important component of adaptive readiness [3]. Therefore, personality may influence career adaptability. However, previous studies focused on how seemingly bright traits, such as conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and proactive personality, promote career adaptability [5]. They overlooked the potential facilitative role of Dark Triad traits in career adaptability. Actually, individuals with dark Triad traits often exhibit an agentic social style, which aids in resource acquisition from their environment [6]. Emerging evidence suggests that Dark Triad traits may contribute positively to career development [7]. For example, narcissism, as a representative trait of the Dark Triad, has been found to significantly increase an individual’s likelihood of being hired during job interviews [8]. Therefore, neglecting the potential influence of Dark Triad traits on career adaptability would limit our understanding of the antecedents of career adaptability and hinder our ability to effectively enhance career adaptability.

Furthermore, although CCT proposes that adaptive readiness can influence career adaptability, this theory does not unfold how career readiness, such as the Dark Triad traits, influences career adaptability [9]. COR could fill this gap. Both bright and dark traits have strategies for acquiring resources and adapting to society [10]. As typical dark traits, the Dark Triad traits may help individuals possess strong political skills, which can help them navigate career challenges [11] by facilitating access to important resources [12], such as career adaptability. Therefore, this study aimed to test whether and how the Dark Triad traits are related to career adaptability via political skill.

This study might make three theoretical contributions. First, this study sheds light on the influence of dark traits on career adaptability through an examination of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability. In doing so, it may foster a deeper appreciation of the encompassing nature of adaptive readiness, which may not only include the positive qualities previously studied but also seemingly adverse social factors. Second, integrating CCT with COR, we explored how adaptive readiness is related to career adaptability, which further refines the framework of CCT. Finally, this study examined both the positive and negative impacts of Dark Triad traits on career adaptability, highlighting their potential double-edged nature.

Theories and hypotheses

Career construction theory and conservation of resources theory

CCT posits that career development unfolds through four sequential aspects: adaptive readiness, career adaptability, adapting responses, and adaptation results. These aspects respectively reflect an individual’s willingness to adapt, capacity for adaptation, adaptive behaviors, and the outcomes of adaptation [13]. Among them, career adaptability, also known as adaptability resources, is the core concept of CCT [4]. Career adaptability promotes career decision-making [14], job search self-efficacy [15], and career competency [16].

Career adaptability includes four dimensions: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence [13]. Concern refers to the characteristics of an individual’s preparation and willingness for career development tasks, career transformation, and job trauma. Control implies that individuals believe they can determine their career development and are responsible for it. Curiosity implies individuals’ inclination to explore potential future selves and career opportunities for their career development. Finally, confidence reflects an individual’s trust in one’s own ability to successfully solve career-related problems [3].

CCT theory suggests that adaptive readiness is an important prerequisite for career adaptability [3]. Individuals would suffer when they fail to respond to changes in their career development in an accustomed way. After this distress reaches the threshold, individuals will invoke intrapersonal and interpersonal processes to change themselves or their environment in response to the changes [17]. Only when individuals are fully prepared and want to respond to these changes will they begin to construct and apply adaptation resources (career adaptability) to deal with these changes [3].

Personality is an essential component of adaptive readiness [15], both bright and dark traits might help individuals to adapt to their environment [10]. As typical dark traits, the Dark Triad traits could be adaptive readiness. Individuals with the Dark Triad traits (especially Machiavellianism and narcissism) value achievement [18], which makes them sensitive to job opportunities, constantly invest efforts, adjust strategies in the face of obstacles, and stay entertained in the process [19]. This means individuals with the Dark Triad traits might be highly willing to adapt.

However, CCT does not describe how adaptive readiness influences career adaptability. Therefore, the influential mechanism of the Dark Triad traits on career adaptability is unclear. Fortunately, COR may help unlock this “black box”, thereby contributing to the development of CCT. Specifically, in COR, resources are defined as anything that is perceived to help individuals attain their goals [20]. Resources include four kinds: material resources, condition resources, personal resources, and energy resources. Material resources are items valued for their physical attributes, such as cars and houses. Condition resources refer to favorable circumstances, such as job tenure and marriage. Personal resources are traits that enable individuals to better manage stress and overcome challenges, such as proactive personality and the Dark Triad traits. Energy resources are expendable assets primarily valued for their role in acquiring other resources rather than for their inherent worth, such as time and political skills. COR further clarifies that resources are finite, and individuals strive to acquire, maintain, and protect those resources [21]. Furthermore, COR proposes that there are two kinds of resource transformation processes: resource loss circle and resource gain spiral [22]. In a resource loss circle, individuals with fewer resources face increasing pressure, which depletes their resources further, intensifying stress and making recovery more difficult. In contrast, a resource gain spiral occurs when those with more initial resources have more opportunities to acquire new resources, leading to accumulation over time.

Individuals with high Dark Triad traits, such as Machiavellianism and narcissism, may act as personal resources that help individuals develop political skill [23], an energy resource crucial for coping with the pressures of career changes [22]. The Dark Triad traits are associated with a heightened need for power and achievement, which in turn motivates individuals to develop and utilize political skill. This skill not only enables them to effectively manage situational pressures but also helps preserve other valuable resources from depletion [24]. Consequently, this process triggers a resource gain spiral [12], facilitating the accumulation of personal resources such as career adaptability. However, not all Dark Triad traits have the same effect. This study argues that while Machiavellianism and narcissism are linked to resource gain spirals—leading to higher political skill and, thus, greater career adaptability—psychopathy tends to have the opposite effect. Individuals with psychopathic traits may suffer from poorer personal resources, which could initiate a resource loss circle. This results in diminished energy resource (political skill) and less ability to adapt to career challenges, ultimately lowering their personal resource (career adaptability).

The dark triad traits and political skill

The Dark Triad traits tend to increase the demand for power and achievement [18], which in turn motivates individuals to acquire political skill [12]. Political skill enables individuals to successfully obtain resources and influence others to ensure they are able to perform their work and interpersonal relationships efficiently [25]. It includes four dimensions: social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity [26]. Although the different Dark Triad traits show some overlaps, they usually lead to different outcomes [27]; thus, they may affect political skill in distinct ways.

Machiavellianism, defined by calculated and cold decision-making [28]. Machiavellians are thoughtful and possess excellent social insight [29], therefore, they could have high levels of social astuteness. In terms of interpersonal influence, they manage impressions effectively by refraining from destructive behaviors and exhibiting contextually prosocial behavior [30], thereby enhancing their persuasive power. They are also good at networking: Machiavellians build strategic alliances to gain status and achieve goals [31]. Finally, they often project apparent sincerity through deliberate self-monitoring and impression management, helping conceal manipulative intentions [30].

H1

Machiavellianism would be positively related to political skill.

Narcissism, characterized by self-grandiosity and a prominent sense of entitlement [32], also enhances political skill. Narcissists tend to have strong social astuteness, as they value others’ evaluations and think they are superior [33]. Their self-perceived importance and charisma allow them to exert interpersonal influence and shape social perceptions effectively [34]. With regard to networking ability, narcissists actively build relationships that elevate their visibility and reinforce their self-image [34]. Furthermore, their high self-control [35] and ability in impression management [36] allow them to exhibit apparent sincerity, making their self-promotion appear authentic and trustworthy.

H2

Narcissism would be positively related to political skill.

Psychopathy, on the other hand, reflects the most destructive and least socially effective traits among the Dark Triad [37]. Individuals high in psychopathy lack empathy, making them less socially astute [38]. Their impulsivity and aggressive tendencies [39] impair interpersonal influence, as they often fail to maintain cooperative or persuasive interactions. Psychopaths also struggle with networking ability due to their tendency toward manipulation and superficial charm [38], which hinder the establishment of lasting connections. Finally, their poor impulse control and disregard for consequences [40] reduce their capacity to appear sincere, damaging their apparent sincerity.

H3

Psychopathy would be negatively related to political skill.

Political skill and career adaptability

Political skill may promote all dimensions of career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence). First, individuals with high political skill may have more career concerns. They have high social astuteness, which leads to keen observation and deep concern for their career environment [26] and to pay more attention to career development to pursue career goals [41]. Second, political skill tends to improve career control. The social astuteness dimension of political skill is associated with conscientiousness and self-monitoring [26]. Individuals with high political skill would adjust their behaviors to the situations and requirements [42]. Third, political skill may enhance career curiosity. Individuals with high political skill have high acuity and attention to the environment [12], indicating that they are curious about and like to explore the environment. Furthermore, individuals with high political skill are adept at identifying and creating opportunities to advance their goals [43]. Finally, political skill may boost career confidence. Due to the combination of interpersonal interaction style and social effectiveness, political skill enable individuals to confidently adjust their behavior in the face of different or changing situations [12].

H4

Political skill would be positively related to career adaptability.

Given the above statements, Machiavellianism and narcissism would be positively correlated with political skill (H1 and H2), and psychopathy would be negatively correlated with political skill (H3). Furthermore, based on H4, political skill would be positively related to career adaptability. Therefore, individuals with high levels of Machiavellianism and narcissism may experience a resource gain spiral: they accumulate more political skill, which in turn drives their career adaptability upward. Conversely, those high in psychopathy may experience a resource loss spiral, where diminished political skill leads to lower career adaptability.

H5

Political skill mediates the relationships between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability.

Method

Participants and procedures

First, we reached out to a high-tech company specializing in the research, development, and manufacturing of optical devices (for civilian smart device terminals) located in a southern province of China and conducted a survey with the consent of the general manager. Subsequently, with the assistance of a staff member from the Human Resources Department of the company, researchers invited 350 employees to voluntarily participate in this study.

Participants completed the study by answering the questionnaire at three time points, with two-week intervals between each. Specifically, participants provided demographic information and the Dark Triad traits at Time 1. At Time 2, participants reported their political skill. At Time 3, participants provided information on career adaptability. After excluding 43 participants who failed any of the three attention checks, the final sample consisted of 307 completed surveys (M_age = 30.99, SD_age = 5.79, N_male = 107, N_female = 200).

All participants were native Chinese, including 145 regular employees, 75 frontline managers, 68 middle managers, and 19 senior executives, such as directors and the general manager. Most of them (56.3%) have a bachelor or higher degree. The sensitivity analysis was conducted by Gpower 3, and the results showed that this sample size could detect small to medium effects (f² = 0.05). In line with the ethical guidelines, which adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki, set forth by the Ethics Committee at the School of Business Administration (ECSBA), Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, informed consent was secured from all participants.

Measures

Scales were prepared in Chinese. Unless otherwise specified, a seven-point Likert scale was used (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree).

Dark triad traits

The Short Dark Triad scale [44] was used to measure the Dark Triad traits, which showed good reliability and validity in China [45]. This scale consists of three dimensions (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), with nine items for each dimension. A sample item of Machiavellianism is “It’s not wise to tell your secrets.” An example of narcissism is “People see me as a natural leader.” A sample item for psychopathy is “I like to get revenge on authorities.” The Cronbach’s α of each dimension were adequate (α_{Machiavellianism} = 0.79, α_narcissism = 0.70, α_psychopathy = 0.71).

Political skill

The 18-item scale [26] was used to measure political skill. This scale is valid and reliable in China [46]. A sample item is “I am good at getting people to like me.” The Cronbach’s α was 0.92.

Career adaptability

The 24-item scale [4] was applied to measure career adaptability in a 5-point Likert-type format (1 = my ability in this area is not strong; 5 = my ability in this area is very strong). A sample item is “performing tasks efficiently.” The Chinese version of this scale is widely used in China [47]. The Cronbach’s α was 0.95. We chose to use a 5-point Likert-type scale rather than a 7-point scale for measuring career adaptability for two reasons: First, the typical usage of this questionnaire employs a 5-point Likert scale [4]. Second, as in some studies [48], we aimed to introduce variation in the response format compared to the independent and mediator variables to reduce response bias and encourage participants to answer more thoughtfully.

Control variables

Males might score higher than females in Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy [49], and there might be differences in career adaptability between males and females [50]. Therefore, sex was controlled for, with sex coded as 0 for females and 1 for males. Education, known to enhance career adaptability [51], was also controlled, and it was coded as 1 = high school or below, 2 = college, 3 = bachelor, 4 = master, and 5 = doctor. Age, might negatively associates with political skill [52] and career adaptability [53], was controlled as a continuous variable. Tenure, due to its potential association with career adaptability [54], was controlled for. Lastly, rank, which might be related to career adaptability [55], was controlled, with rank coded as regular employee = 1, frontline manager = 2, middle manager = 3, senior executive = 4.

Results

Harman factor analysis was applied to assess the extent of common method bias. The results showed that the first factor could explain 24.68% of the total variance, which was lower than the rule of thumb (50%) [56]. Therefore, common method bias was not serious. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis showed that the hypothesized five-factor model provided a better fit than alternative models (Table 1); therefore, our survey had adequate internal construct validity.

Table 1.

Model fitting index comparison

	χ2	df	RMSEA	CFI	TLI	SRMR	Δχ2
Five-factor model	260.93	109	0.067	0.94	0.93	0.048
Four-factor model	486.55	113	0.104	0.85	0.82	0.071	225.62***
Three-factor model	659.56	116	0.124	0.78	0.75	0.099	398.63***
Two-factor model	1001.79	118	0.156	0.65	0.60	0.135	740.86***
One-factor model	1288.27	119	0.179	0.54	0.47	0.151	1027.34***

Note(s): Δχ²means the difference of χ² between the current model and the five-factor model, ^***p < .001

Four-factor model: Combining political skill and career adaptability; Three-factor model: Combining Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy; Two-factor model: Combining Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and political skill.

According to the correlations among study variables (Table 2), Machiavellianism, narcissism, and political skill were positively related to career adaptability, in line with the direction of our hypotheses. Furthermore, the correlations among the three dimensions of the Dark Triad traits were significantly positive but moderate in size (0.29 to 0.43). This level of positive correlations aligns with the expectation that they are different dimensions of the same overarching concept.

Table 2.

Means, standard deviations, and correlations

		M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	Sex
2	Age	30.99	5.79	0.07
3	Rank	1.87	0.96	0.02	0.49***
4	Education	2.78	0.82	− 0.06	− 0.17**	− 0.03
5	Tenure	3.63	1.63	− 0.04	0.01	− 0.05	− 0.04
6	Machiavellianism	4.29	0.86	0.18**	− 0.11*	− 0.09	0.17**	0.03
7	Narcissism	3.31	0.72	0.04	0.03	0.08	0.21***	− 0.04	0.29***
8	Psychopathy	2.36	0.79	0.25***	− 0.01	0.03	0.17**	− 0.03	0.35***	0.43***
9	Political skill	4.24	0.84	0.13*	− 0.07	0.10	0.11*	− 0.02	0.27***	0.45***	0.14*
10	Career adaptability	4.27	0.70	0.10	− 0.06	0.06	0.10	− 0.03	0.22***	0.24***	− 0.05	0.64***

Note: ^*p<.05, ^**p<.01, ^***p<.001

Additionally, we employed two methods to monitor multicollinearity. First, a correlation analysis revealed that the correlation coefficients among all study variables were well below the commonly accepted threshold of 0.90, indicating no serious multicollinearity issues [57]. Furthermore, we conducted regression models where the three dimensions of the Dark Triad traits served as independent variables, and political skill and career adaptability as the dependent variables, respectively. The variance inflation factors were all below the rule of thumb thresholds of 10 [57] (Mean = 1.25, Max = 1.17, Min = 1.32). Therefore, there are no serious multicollinearity issues among the independent variables.

The results of structural equation modeling (Table 3) (using Mplus 8.11) showed that Machiavellianism (B = 0.23, SE = 0.08, p = .003), narcissism (B = 0.61, SE = 0.10, p < .001), and psychopathy (B = -0.39, SE = 0.12, p = .001) were significantly related to political skill (Model 2). Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were supported. Furthermore, political skill was negatively and significantly related to career adaptability (B = 0.59, SE = 0.07, p < .001) (Model 5). Therefore, Hypotheses 4 was supported.

Table 3.

Structural equation modelling results

	Political skill				Career Adaptability
	Model 1		Model 2		Model 3		Model 4		Model 5
	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE
Sex	0.23*	0.10	0.20*	0.09	0.18*	0.08	0.21*	0.08	0.10	0.07
Education	0.12*	0.06	0.04	0.05	0.07	0.05	0.04	0.05	0.02	0.04
Age	-0.02	0.01	-0.02*	0.01	-0.01	0.01	-0.01	0.01	-0.00	0.01
Rank	0.13*	0.06	0.12*	0.05	0.08	0.05	0.08	0.05	0.01	0.04
Tenure	-0.00	-0.11	-0.00	0.03	-0.01	0.02	-0.01	0.02	-0.01	0.02
Machiavellianism			0.23**	0.08			0.24**	0.07	0.09	0.06
Narcissism			0.61***	0.10			0.39***	0.09	0.00	0.08
Psychopathy			-0.39**	0.12			-0.51***	0.12	-0.28**	0.10
Political skill									0.59***	0.07

Note: ^*p<.05, ^**p<.01, ^***p<.001. SE = standard error

The results of a Bootstrap test (resampling 10,000 times) supported the mediating roles of political skill between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability (Fig. 1). The direct effects of Machiavellianism (B = 0.09, SE = 0.07, p = .176), narcissism (B = 0.00, SE = 0.08, p = .961) on career adaptability were insignificant. However, the direct effect of psychopathy on career adaptability was significant (B = -0.28, SE = 0.10, p = .008). Machiavellianism (B = 0.26, SE = 0.08, p = .001) and narcissism (B = 0.62, SE = 0.10, p < .001) were positively related to political skill, while psychopathy (B = -0.34, SE = 0.12, p = .004) was negatively related to political skill. Political skill was positively related to career adaptability (B = 0.59, SE = 0.08, p < .001). Political skill significantly mediated the relationships between Machiavellianism (B = 0.15, SE = 0.05, 95% CI [0.06, 0.26]), narcissism (B = 0.36, SE = 0.08, 95% CI [0.24, 0.55]), psychopathy (B = -0.20, SE = 0.07, 95% CI [-0.36, -0.07]), and career adaptability.

Fig. 1.

Research Model. Note: ^*p < .05, ^**p < .01, ^*** p < .001, statistically controlled sex, age, rank, education, and tenure

Furthermore, we used the “mediation” package in R version 4.3.3 to test the sensitivity of the three indirect effects [58]. The results indicated that the mediation effects of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy via political skill on career adaptability would only become null if the 𝜌 values exceed 0.60, 0.60, and.70, respectively. As such, these mediation effects are highly robust [59] and unlikely to be affected by minor confounding influences, thereby supporting Hypothesis 5.

Supplementary analysis

To further delineate the relationships between the Dark Triad traits and the dimensions of career adaptability, we conducted regression analyses by treating the Dark Triad traits as independent variables and each dimension of career adaptability as dependent variables. The results revealed a cross-dimensional stability in the relationships: Machiavellianism and narcissism were significantly positively associated with all four dimensions of career adaptability, while psychopathy showed significant negative relationships across all dimensions (Table 4). This cross-dimensional stability underscores the strong coherence among the four dimensions of career adaptability, as evidenced by their inter-correlations, which ranged from 0.63 to 0.72.

Table 4.

Regressions four dimensions of career adaptability on the dark triad traits

	Concern		Control		Curiosity		Confidence
	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE
Machiavellianism	0.23***	0.06	0.18**	0.06	0.23***	0.05	0.11*	0.05
Narcissism	0.26***	0.07	0.29***	0.07	0.31***	0.07	0.26***	0.07
Psychopath	-0.19**	0.07	-0.28***	0.06	-0.19**	0.06	-0.24***	0.06

Note: ^*p<.05, ^**p<.01, ^***p<.001. SE = standard error

Discussion

Based on CCT and COR, this study examined whether and how the Dark Triad traits are related to career adaptability. As expected, participants with higher levels of Machiavellianism and narcissism demonstrated greater career adaptability, while those with higher levels of psychopathy exhibited lower career adaptability. Additionally, political skill mediates the relationships between the Dark Triad traits and career adaptability.

Theoretical implications

This study might have some theoretical implications. First, this study integrated CCT [9] and COR [22] to explore how career readiness, operationalized in terms of the Dark Triad traits, is related to career adaptability. CCT suggests that adaptive readiness is a crucial factor affecting career adaptability, but it does not reveal the mechanism of adaptive readiness affecting career adaptability. Previous studies also focused on the effect of adaptive readiness on adaptability [5, 60] without exploring how adaptive readiness influence career adaptability. Integrating CCT and COR, we found that career readiness can be an important personal resource that, through a resource gain spiral, promotes political skill (energy resource), which then further develops into career adaptability (another personal resource). As a result, this study refines the theoretical framework of CCT.

Second, this study enriched the literature on career adaptability by showing that the Dark Triad traits are imperative antecedents of career adaptability. CCT views personality as an imperative component of adaptive readiness, which can further influence career adaptability [3]. Every trait has its strategy for solving adaptation problems [61]. However, previous studies focused on the impact of bright traits on career adaptability while ignoring the effect of dark traits, especially the Dark Triad traits. Machiavellians and narcissists have some advantages in adapting to career changes. For example, Machiavellians are good at weighing, plotting, and handling tasks flexibly and effectively [62]; narcissists are good at self-goal setting, self-regulation, and making constructive suggestions [35]. Individuals with high Machiavellianism and narcissism leverage adaptive mechanisms to cope with vocational challenges [63]. The neglection of the Dark Triad traits in previous research on the antecedents of career adaptability might reflect the prejudice that adaptive readiness only includes positive variables since career adaptability is positive. The present study underscores that some dark traits, such as Machiavellianism and narcissism, may serve as elements of career readiness and enhance career adaptability.

Finally, the different influence patterns of the Dark Triad traits on career adaptability may contribute to the field of Dark Triad traits, which reminded us that different Dark Triad traits might have different effects on the same variable. This study showed that not all Dark Triad traits could boost political skill and career adaptability. Although Machiavellianism and narcissism could promote political skill and career adaptability, psychopathy inhibits it. The findings confirmed the particularity of psychopathy in the Dark Triad traits. Compared with the other two traits, psychopathy represents the failing side of the Dark Triad traits [37]. Our study provided a possible explanation for the particularity of psychopathy: Machiavellians and narcissists are better at building political skill to achieve their goals and conceal their antisocial motivations, while the antisocial behaviors of psychopaths are more impulsive and direct [64, 65]. As a result, psychopaths are more likely to lack sufficient political skills to advance their careers in situations that may arouse excessive suspicion and defensiveness from others.

Practical implications

There were some practical implications. First, organizations should recognize that individuals exhibiting high levels of Dark Triad traits may demonstrate enhanced career adaptability, potentially increasing their likelihood of being hired and promoted. However, given that the Dark Triad traits might produce adverse outcomes, such as counterproductive work behaviors [63] and social loafing [66], it is necessary for organizations to identify these traits and adopt a cautious approach when making promotion decisions involving individuals with high levels of Dark Triad traits.

Second, for employees with low levels of Dark Triad traits, managers can provide targeted training to improve their political skills, as political skill can promote career adaptability. Additionally, the company can offer direct training programs focused specifically on enhancing career adaptability for employees with low levels of Dark Triad traits.

In contrast, for individuals exhibiting high levels of Dark Triad traits, managers can adopt trait-specific strategies based on insights from trait activation theory [67]. For employees with high Machiavellianism, integrating ethical standards into work tasks and fostering a transparent, collaborative culture can help reduce manipulative behavior, thereby limiting counterproductive actions aimed at personal gain at the expense of the organization. For those high in narcissism, encouraging recognition through team-based achievements rather than individual accolades can help redirect their need for admiration in a way that benefits collective goals, reducing actions that undermine teamwork. Finally, for individuals with high psychopathy, stringent monitoring, clear accountability, and well-enforced consequences for impulsive or reckless behavior can limit their tendency to engage in harmful or disruptive actions, preventing counterproductive workplace behavior.

Limitations and perspectives

There are several limitations and directions for future research. First, this study is grounded in CCT, conceptualizing the Dark Triad traits as a form of adaptive readiness and examining their relationship with career adaptability. Additionally, COR is used as a theoretical lens to suggest that the Dark Triad traits influence political skill as energy resource, potentially triggering a resource gain spiral or loss cycle that affects career adaptability. However, the study does not directly test the dynamic processes of resource accumulation or depletion as proposed by COR. Future research should employ longitudinal or experimental designs to capture these resource dynamics more directly.

Second, this study investigated the indirect relationship between Dark Triad traits and career adaptability through political skill, without considering potential moderators that might influence this relationship. For instance, time may be an imperative moderator. Since the true faces of the individuals with high Dark Triad traits will gradually be revealed, the positive effects of Machiavellianism and narcissism may slowly fade. In contrast, the adverse effects of psychopathy would strengthen progressively over time. Furthermore, culture might moderate the relationship between political skill and career adaptability. In cultures emphasizing collectivism or social capital, political skill may better assist individuals in building interpersonal networks. These networks could be leveraged to gain additional social supports, facilitating career adaptability. However, since all participants were from a single Chinese company, the moderating role of culture remains unclear. Future research could address this gap.

For the measurement of study variables, we followed the conventions of similar studies. We used a 5-point Likert-type scale for career adaptability [4] and a 7-point Likert-type scale for political skill [26]. For the measurement of the Dark Triad traits, previous studies have sometimes used a 5-point Likert-type scale [68], sometimes a 7-point scale [69], and in some cases, did not report the scale type used [70]. In this study, we opted for a 7-point Likert-type scale. This choice was made because Chinese participants tend to be more moderate and may avoid selecting extreme answers [71], which could lead to reduced variance in 5-point scales. Additionally, research has shown that 5-point and 7-point scales have similar psychometric properties [72]. Furthermore, studies typically focus more on correlation coefficients rather than means, and meta-analyses often rely on correlation coefficients as input [73]. The scale type primarily affects means but has little impact on correlation coefficients [74], thus supporting the contribution of our findings to the accumulation of knowledge in the Dark Triad field. However, since some studies use a 5-point scale while others use a 7-point scale to measure Dark Triad traits, it may be difficult for researchers to compare the mean differences across samples. Therefore, future research could further investigate whether the statistical results obtained from these two different scales show meaningful differences and strive to standardize the scale format of the questionnaire.

Forth, while both dark and bright personality traits may enhance career adaptability, their effects might differ. Career adaptability, as a psychological resource, can be used to pursue either positive or negative outcomes. The key difference lies in the motivational attributes of the underlying personality traits. Career adaptability itself is neutral, but personality traits are not. Therefore, future research should examine whether career adaptability developed from bright traits is more likely to lead to positive outcomes compared to adaptability developed from dark traits.

Furthermore, this study did not control for other personality traits or their interactions with the Dark Triad traits, leaving the incremental predictive validity of the Dark Triad traits for career adaptability unclear. Although prior research supports their discriminant validity with the Big Five [75], the common variance of the Dark Triad traits and the Honesty–Humility dimension of the HEXACO model overlaps [45, 76]. Therefore, only when researchers have a specific interest in the unique variance of one or more of the Dark Triad traits is it necessary to measure the Dark Triad traits [77]. Given that this study focuses on the unique effects of each Dark Triad trait on career adaptability, our approach is justified. Future research aiming to explore the common variance of the Dark Triad traits on career adaptability should control for the Honesty–Humility dimension of the HEXACO model to account for these variables, thereby better isolating the unique effects of the Dark Triad traits. Additionally, future studies should further investigate whether and how certain personality traits moderate the effects of the Dark Triad traits. For example, individuals with high conscientiousness who also exhibit high levels of Machiavellianism may be more inclined to engage in strategic manipulation, whereas lower levels of conscientiousness may exacerbate psychopathy-related risk-taking tendencies.

Finally, although we found that psychopathy hinders career adaptability by suppressing political skill, this appears to conflict with some previous studies suggesting that psychopathy may enhance political skill. For instance, Babiak and Hare (2006) introduced the concept of “corporate psychopathy,” proposing that high-functioning individuals with psychopathic traits might exploit superficial charm and tactical manipulation to secure short-term advantages within organizations [78]. Similarly, Boddy (2011) claimed that psychopathic individuals could have high political skills to achieve their goals [79].

The discrepancy between our findings and those of prior research may be attributable to the existence of yet unidentified moderators influencing the relationship between psychopathy and political skill. ​While no studies have directly examined moderators between psychopathy and political skill, related research offers indirect evidence. For example, Blickle & Genau (2019) showed that psychopathy is positively (negatively) related to income when individuals’ education level was high (low) [80]. Therefore, future research should further investigate potential moderators between psychopathy and political skill.

Furthermore, psychopathy is a multidimensional construct encompassing boldness, disinhibition, and meanness [81]. These dimensions exhibit distinct relationships with political skill: boldness is positively associated with political skill, whereas disinhibition and meanness are negatively associated [82]. In our study, psychopathy was assessed as one dimension of the Dark Triad traits, preventing us from distinguishing between the different dimensions of psychopathy and their specific relationships with political skill. Consequently, we captured only the overall association between the two constructs. Moreover, the Dark Triad traits predominantly emphasize the disinhibition and meanness dimensions of psychopathy, which may lead individuals to pursue immediate rewards at the expense of long-term interests [44]. Consequently, our findings primarily reflect the negative association between psychopathy and political skill. Future research should employ more nuanced measures that differentiate among the specific dimensions of psychopathy to better elucidate the complex relationship between psychopathy and political skill.

Author contributions

Xiaochuan Jiang and Shijie Xu wrote the original manuscript text. Xiaochuan Jiang conducted the questionnaire survey and revised the manuscript. Yanhui Hou and Nicholas Chima prepared tables and polish the text. Jianfeng Yang designed this study. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Funding

Research Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education (23YJAZH056); Chinese National Natural Science Program (72062017).

Data availability

Sequence data that support the findings of this study have been deposited in science data bank, and readers can reach it through https://www.scidb.cn/en/s/E3QFRj.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical Approval for conducting this study, which adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki, was granted by the Ethics Committee at the School of Business Administration (ECSBA), Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics. In line with the guidelines established by this ethics committee, all participants provided informed, written consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.