The Spiraling and Spillover of Misconduct: Perceived Workplace Bullying, Subclinical Psychopathy, and Businesspersons’ Recognition of an Ethical Issue

Workplace bullying can potentially spiral into numerous counterproductive behaviors and negative organizational outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which increased perceptions of workplace bullying were associated with stronger expressions of (subclinical) psychopathic traits and weakened ethical decision making. Data were collected from national and regional samples of selling and business professions using a self-report questionnaire that contained relevant measures and an ethics scenario, and structural equation modeling was employed to investigate the proposed relationships. Findings indicated that perceived workplace bullying operated through psychopathy to influence the recognition of an ethical issue (or full mediation). The implications of these findings are discussed, along with the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.