The Dark Side of Conscientiousness

It would seem that out of all the traits in the Five Factor Model (FFM; openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness), conscientiousness may be the best one to have, or at least develop, in yourself. After all, the highly conscientious get things done, they can be relied on, and research indicates they may show substantial health benefits. You might have a co-worker or friend you consider highly conscientious. You wish you could learn from some of their good habits, but before you try to emulate them, it’s worth thinking twice about where this could all go wrong.

At the same time, conscientiousness does not exist in a vacuum. Outside of the FFM, there is extensive research on maladaptive traits, the “dark” qualities of narcissism and psychopathy—ones that everyone should studiously avoid in the people you interact with on a daily basis. These are the people who University College London’s Coleman et al. (2023; published online in 2022) refer to as the “derailers” who have “subclinical” manifestations of these personality disorders as well as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD).

Can There Be Too Much of a Good Thing With Conscientiousness?

The British team, examining prior evidence on people whose personalities fit into this subclinical picture, suggests that when it comes to conscientiousness, there’s a sweet spot of having the “right amount” of this quality. Following an inverse U-shaped trajectory, too much conscientiousness may surprisingly be associated in the workplace with “Counterproductive Work Behaviors” (CWB). A set of behaviors intensively studied within the industrial-organizational literature (for obvious reasons), CWBs include such forms of acting out as slacking off, being aggressive to others, stealing, and showing high rates of absenteeism.

Prior research by one of the study’s co-authors, Adrian Furman (2017), who defined the dark side of conscientiousness, reported that high levels of this quality are related to the “dark trait” of diligence (dark because it reflects perfectionism) and boldness (related to the grandiose form of narcissism). In the words of the authors, “If conscientiousness is characterised by detail-orientation and ambition, then derailers would logically be highly perfectionistic and narcissistic” (p. 27745). The list of unfortunate correlates of high conscientiousness goes on, including rigidity, inflexibility, unwillingness to learn new skills, and an unhealthy focus on following rules.

You might be wondering why perfectionism falls into the dark side of the equation. To clarify, there can be adaptive forms of this quality when it drives the seeking of excellence. Its maladaptive side includes perfectionistic strivings and an excessive concern with avoiding failure. In this form, it’s not a trait that would bode well for workplace performance.

Testing the Role of Personality in the Workplace

The UCL researchers tested a set of predictions on a sample of 716 participants (average age 42 years old) from a range of industries whose rank ranged according to status within their organizations (i.e., management vs. no management). Participants completed a set of questionnaires used to assess conscientiousness as a trait at work, narcissism, perfectionism (the “Almost Perfect Scale”), and extraversion, thought to be a moderating influence on the role of conscientiousness alone. The researchers also asked participants to rate their fellow employees (leaders or followers) on the quality of their relationships, based on the idea that stress in the form of poor relationships would play a contributing role.

A series of complex statistical model testing produced support for Coleman et al.’s prediction that workers high in conscientiousness would show a greater tendency to engage in “narcissistic derailment” due to their “excessively high personal standards and perfectionistic strivings” (p. 27752). Relationships with supervisors, though, also factored into the results. People low in extraversion (i.e. introverts) were more prone to maladaptive perfectionism if these relationships were poor in quality. The implication of this finding is that if you’re working with an introverted perfectionist, it’s important to provide resources to help reduce their fear of making mistakes or not performing up to standards.

When Is the Highly Conscientious Person Going to Become a Derailer?

Returning to the basic question of at what point conscientiousness turns dark, the findings suggest that the risk of narcissistic derailment becomes highest when extraversion enters the equation. In a way, the highly conscientious individual who appears bold and focused on results might seem like the best prospect for becoming successful in whatever they attempt. However, this must be balanced against the risk that narcissism leads these individuals into counterproductive behaviors when they become overly focused on their own glory.

From your own perspective, there are two ways to think about the findings. On the one hand, if your own conscientiousness combines with maladaptive perfectionism and a tendency to ruminate, this could spell longer-term trouble. You’ll feel that you can never do enough, you’ll feel stressed if you’re not getting support and feedback from others, and you’ll worry about your mistakes. With the knowledge from the UCL study, try to reflect on the last time something didn’t go as planned, and whether you were too harsh on yourself.

Conscientiousness Essential Reads

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The Career Power of Being Conscientious

From the standpoint of the derailer, it seems clear that this is the type of person you’d be better off avoiding. Do you work with, or have other interactions with, someone who seems to go through life confident and self-assured, but who you suspect has no real interest in anyone but themselves? Putting their conscientiousness to “dark” use means that they might try to twist the actions of whoever they’re working with for their own purposes. Yes, they can get things done, but at what cost to themselves and others?

To sum up, the UCL study shows that even what you might think of as the best personality trait to have actually comes at a potentially high cost. It’s great to be careful, diligent, and self-disciplined, but at the same time, learning to live with less-than-perfect outcomes may in the long run get you further in life.

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