An opportunistic person adapts his behavior according to the circumstances and his interlocutors in order to always take advantage of a situation. An attitude that generally disregards all moral principles.

It is an attitude that consists of adapting one’s behavior and ideas in order to get the best possible benefit from a situation, even if it means compromising on moral principles.

This way of putting one’s interests before morality was notably described by the American economist Oliver Eaton Williamson in his work on “The institutions of the economy”, published in 1985. He describes opportunism as a restful behavioral strategy. on fraudulent actions leading to success.

An opportunistic person will generally tend to put his interest to the detriment of others through several types of behavior such as manipulation and lying.

Opportunism can manifest itself in the workplace, but also in romantic and friendly relationships. It is most often associated with other faults such as selfishness, individualism or the fact of being calculating.

Opportunism is not unanimously viewed as a flaw. For some, it is more about the ability to seize the opportunities that arise. “Being an opportunist is a very good thing, even said Lucie Mandeville, retired professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sherbrooke, at the microphone of RC OHdio, a Canadian radio station. Without it, humans would not have the capacity to adapt to survive. ”

An ability to adapt to one’s environment and to one’s interlocutor, sometimes valued in the professional world. Because opportunism can also be perceived as a form of ambition where daring, self-confidence, determination, observation or even anticipation are necessary to provoke one’s luck.

A strategy game in which benevolence often has no place. “In general, when we say of someone that he is an opportunist, it is a tribute to his intelligence but not a praise of his level of ethics”, underlines Clément Toulemonde, associate director at Interactifs in the columns of The Tribune. Because being an opportunist is characterized above all by putting one’s individual interests to the detriment of others.

When she fell in love with Benoît in 2018, Elsa did not immediately perceive the opportunism of her companion. “We loosely crossed paths at a party several years ago. I learned from a friend that he was looking for a company to validate his last year of master’s degree in the IT sector. I kindly put him in touch with my father, technical director of a company. He offered to have a drink to thank me, it was the first time we saw each other. I immediately fell in love with him. ”

Benoît and Elsa move in together two months later. “At the end of his 6-month internship, thanks to his performance and the support of my father, he obtained a CDD and then a CDI.”

If the relationship seems good, it deteriorates quickly when the father of the young girl resigns to join another company a year later. “I felt his behavior change. He became less and less present until one evening the tone rose. After harassing him with questions, he confessed to me that his desire to seduce me had been motivated by my father’s high position, that our relationship was the result of an unfortunate process and that he had not. dared to leave me to preserve his professional ascent. ”

Hurt and scalded by her breakup, Elsa took a long time to trust again. “I felt manipulated. I also felt very guilty for not having been able to recognize the signs of an opportunistic relationship. But even in hindsight, I don’t think I could have anticipated such a disappointment. Today, I am much more attentive to the interests that drive a person to come to me. I want my future companion to tell himself that getting into a relationship with me is a great opportunity to be even happier. A healthy and shared opportunism. ”