Machiavellianism and Counterproductive Behaviors at Workplace

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the preference towards getting involved in counterproductive behaviors at workplace in relation to the Machiavellianism personality attribute. One hundred and seventy six executive men/women working at supervisory/managerial level having a minimum of three years working experience were selected randomly. The tests administered were: Mach IV Scale and Counterproductive Work Behavior Checklist along with demographic sheet. Individuals who have reported high scores on Machiavellianism were found to be positively correlated with a preference for counterproductive work behaviors. Correlation values are found significant at 0.01 level. The data analysis of sub-scales of Counterproductive work behavior checklist namely: abuse, production deviance, sabotage, theft and withdrawal revealed there is an overall preference for getting involved in counterproductive work behaviors by high machs.