Understanding Everyday Sadism, Dark Traits and Employee Silence at Work: Reflections from the Indian Epic Ramayana

Abstract

Everyday sadism represents a significant aspect of the subclinical dark personality constellation, characterized by individuals who inflict pain on others for pleasure or personal gain. Such individuals may derive satisfaction from various forms of abuse: be it verbal, physical, or simply through observing others suffering. These subclinical dark traits are frequently observed in workplace environments, where individuals may hold a range of positions. In professional settings, they exhibit unprovoked aggression, engage in gossip, undermine colleagues discreetly, and partake in various counterproductive behaviors that they attempt to normalize through rationalization. Their lack of empathy prevents them from feeling shame for their actions. While sadists are undeniably deviant by nature, this paper investigates whether they also engage in what can be termed "deviant silence," where they remain silent for their own benefit. Using constructivist grounded theory, a qualitative research method that captures participants’ vivid perspectives, we explored this concept further. Our empirical findings reveal two key characteristics of everyday sadists that contribute to deviant silence: self-prioritization and insecurity. Also, we explored characters from the Indian epic Ramayana to understand whether every human has the potential to become an everyday sadist.