How do personality traits contribute to work-life balance? Investigating the role of dark triad and big five personality traits on employees’ work-life balance

Abstract

This study examines the role of dark triad personality – narcissism,
Machiavellianism, and psychopathy – and Big Five personality traits on work
life balance (WLB) among employees in Indonesia. The results underscore
the significant impact of personality traits on WLB across its resource and
demand dimensions. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were
collected from 185 employees across various jobs and companies in Indonesia
through a self-report questionnaire. The findings indicate that openness,
Machiavellianism, and psychopathy consistently emerge as strong predictors
of WLB, exhibiting large effect sizes in both dimensions. Agreeableness
demonstrates a positive correlation with the resource dimension, while
conscientiousness and neuroticism show negative correlations with the demand
dimension. The influence of narcissism, gender, and marital status on WLB
is not significant. These results imply that personality traits often considered
maladaptive may offer advantages in coping with workplace challenges and
balancing competing demands. The findings suggest that organizations and
individuals could benefit from considering personality traits when formulating
strategies to enhance WLB, particularly in managing stress and demands of the
contemporary work environment.