Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses

This paper aims to explore differences between the perception of dark traits in formal leaders and levels of workplace stress among employees working in family and non-family businesses. Furthermore, we assess if the company nature (family-owned versus non-family-owned) moderates the relationship be...

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Main Authors: Duarte Pimentel, Sofia Lagarto, Pedro Marques-Quinteiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Businesses
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/4/3/21
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author Duarte Pimentel
Sofia Lagarto
Pedro Marques-Quinteiro
author_facet Duarte Pimentel
Sofia Lagarto
Pedro Marques-Quinteiro
author_sort Duarte Pimentel
collection DOAJ
description This paper aims to explore differences between the perception of dark traits in formal leaders and levels of workplace stress among employees working in family and non-family businesses. Furthermore, we assess if the company nature (family-owned versus non-family-owned) moderates the relationship between the employees’ perception of dark triad traits in their formal leaders and their workplace stress levels. The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 220 Portuguese employees who responded to a questionnaire that included their perceptions of their formal leaders’ dark triad traits and workplace stress measures. All respondents are employed in small and medium-sized private companies, holding no management responsibilities and under formal hierarchical supervision. The initial ideas that family firms’ employees perceive higher levels of dark triad traits in their formal leaders than non-family firms’ employees and that they also show higher levels of workplace stress than non-family firms’ employees were confirmed. The results also support the notion that higher perceptions of dark triad traits in formal leaders are related with higher levels of workplace stress of employees and that the company nature significantly moderates this relationship. These findings enhance the research literature by addressing two often overlooked aspects in the comparison between family and non-family firms. Additionally, they provide valuable insights into the relationship between dark triad traits in formal leaders and employee workplace stress levels.
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spelling doaj-art-99abda6974564add85aa88bee115720a2025-08-20T01:56:13ZengMDPI AGBusinesses2673-71162024-08-014333134610.3390/businesses4030021Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family BusinessesDuarte Pimentel0Sofia Lagarto1Pedro Marques-Quinteiro2School of Psychology, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, PortugalSchool of Psychology, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, PortugalSchool of Economic Sciences and Organizations, Lusófona University, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, PortugalThis paper aims to explore differences between the perception of dark traits in formal leaders and levels of workplace stress among employees working in family and non-family businesses. Furthermore, we assess if the company nature (family-owned versus non-family-owned) moderates the relationship between the employees’ perception of dark triad traits in their formal leaders and their workplace stress levels. The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 220 Portuguese employees who responded to a questionnaire that included their perceptions of their formal leaders’ dark triad traits and workplace stress measures. All respondents are employed in small and medium-sized private companies, holding no management responsibilities and under formal hierarchical supervision. The initial ideas that family firms’ employees perceive higher levels of dark triad traits in their formal leaders than non-family firms’ employees and that they also show higher levels of workplace stress than non-family firms’ employees were confirmed. The results also support the notion that higher perceptions of dark triad traits in formal leaders are related with higher levels of workplace stress of employees and that the company nature significantly moderates this relationship. These findings enhance the research literature by addressing two often overlooked aspects in the comparison between family and non-family firms. Additionally, they provide valuable insights into the relationship between dark triad traits in formal leaders and employee workplace stress levels.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/4/3/21family businessdark triadworkplace stress
spellingShingle Duarte Pimentel
Sofia Lagarto
Pedro Marques-Quinteiro
Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
Businesses
family business
dark triad
workplace stress
title Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
title_full Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
title_fullStr Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
title_full_unstemmed Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
title_short Examining Dark Triad Traits in Formal Leaders and Their Impact on Employee Workplace Stress: A Comparative Study of Family and Non-Family Businesses
title_sort examining dark triad traits in formal leaders and their impact on employee workplace stress a comparative study of family and non family businesses
topic family business
dark triad
workplace stress
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/4/3/21
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AT sofialagarto examiningdarktriadtraitsinformalleadersandtheirimpactonemployeeworkplacestressacomparativestudyoffamilyandnonfamilybusinesses
AT pedromarquesquinteiro examiningdarktriadtraitsinformalleadersandtheirimpactonemployeeworkplacestressacomparativestudyoffamilyandnonfamilybusinesses