The journey of organizational behavior is unending and, with the growing complexities of life, researchers acknowledge the presence of a wide array of dark side behaviors that coexist with the so-called positive behavior. The article sheds light on such dark side behaviors, analyzing their causes and consequences in the context of modern organizations.

With the growing complexity and sophistication of social sciences, organizational behavior has metamorphosized itself from a relatively simplistic and narrowly focused discipline to a much wider multidisciplinary and more elaborate field, encompassing multifarious concepts and variables. In consonance with this evolutionary process, a wide range of dependent variables have emerged in both theory and research. Consequently, not all these newly-defined types of behaviors are functional in nature; there are also those which have dysfunctional in consequences, and relate to negative impacts resulting not only in huge financial burden, but also in jeopardizing the organizational climate in particular.

The simplest example of this new type of dependent variable in the workplace is violence. Violent behavior in the workplace can in no way be beneficial to the organization; therefore, constructive efforts should be made to control, minimize or eliminate it altogether. In this context, it would be pertinent to shed some light on various dimensions of the dark side of organizational behavior. Dark side behavior is the motivated behavior of an employee or a group of employees that yields negative consequences for an individual or another group of individuals within the organization or the organization itself. Behavior, positive or negative, may manifest itself at the individual or group level.

In most cases, behavior reflects choices of individuals or groups, i.e., it is entirely upon the individual whether to choose a behavior known to be positive (working hard, being honest, treating others fairly) or negative (performing below one's capabilities, being dishonest, rendering unfair treatments, etc.). Similarly, the members of a group may also work together in ways known to be positive (making effective decisions, working cooperatively and collaboratively with other groups) or negative (making suboptimal decisions, working against other groups, etc.). But, whatever may be the level or nature of behavior, it is evident that when dark side behavior occurs, it results in negative consequences, not only for the individual or the group, but also for the organization at large.

HRM Review Magazine, Organizational Behavior, Decision-Making Process, Verbal and Psychological Violence, Organizational Culture, Violation of Laws, Human Resource Policies, Business Environment, Organisational Change.