Cutting corners at work: An individual differences perspective

•Examined individual differences in cutting corners at work.•Cutting corners was more common in men than women (Study 1 only).•Cutting corners was more common in those with socially undesirable traits.•Most people were not inclined to cut corners.•Psychopaths who cut corners made more money than those who did not.

Across two studies, we investigated individual differences in the tendency to cut corners at work, and assessed whether a range of personality traits predict this behavior. In two independent samples of Australians (N = 533) and Americans (N = 589), we examined individual differences in cutting corners at work and tested sex differences and the surrounding nomological network of cutting corners. Collectively, we found that men were more likely than women were to cut corners at work, which was fully a function of individual differences in psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and conscientious. Various personality traits accounted for individual differences in the tendency to cut corners at work, indicating that individuals with this tendency may be morally compromised, selfish, impulsive, and not forward-thinking. Results were generally unaffected by contextual factors, such as the hypothetical risks and rewards associated with cutting corners. In our discussion, we focus on the deleterious consequences of cutting corners and the importance of selection and Human Resource practices that address the potential fallout from having such people in the workplace.