Abstract

Psychopathy is commonly associated with maladaptive traits, which are detrimental to well-being in an organizational context. While all researchers agree that maladaptive traits are central to the concept of psychopathy, some scholars add that psychopathy can sometimes also encompass adaptive traits. This chapter offers a review of the impact of psychopathy on well-being in organizational settings, with a focus on psychopathic traits that are considered adaptive. I begin with an overview of the personality traits typically associated with happiness at work. Then I proceed to a general definition of psychopathy. I then review the literature pertaining to psychopathy and to both happiness and work, explore the potential relationships between adaptive psychopathic traits and well-being at work, discuss how to identify employees who could manifest these adaptive psychopathic traits, and conclude with recommendations for future work.