Abstract
We investigated the relationship between guilt proneness and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) using a diverse sample of employed adults working in a variety of different industries at various levels in their organizations. CWB refers to behaviors that harm or are intended to harm organizations or people in organizations. Guilt proneness is a personality trait characterized by a predisposition to experience negative feelings about personal wrongdoing. CWB was engaged in less frequently by individuals high in guilt proneness compared to those low in guilt proneness, controlling for other known correlates of CWB. CWB was also predicted by gender, age, intention to turnover, interpersonal conflict at work, and negative affect at work. Given the detrimental impact of CWB on people and organizations, it may be wise for employers to consider guilt proneness when making hiring decisions.
Highlights
We investigated the relationship between guilt proneness and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) using a diverse sample of employed adults working in a variety of different industries at various levels in their organizations
Some researchers argue that CWB and unethical behavior are distinct constructs, with CWB being a violation of organizational norms and unethical behavior a violation of societal norms (Kish-Gephart, Harrison, & Trevino, 2010)
Our results suggest that CWB is predicted by gender, age, intention to turnover, interpersonal conflict at work, negative affect at work, and guilt proneness
Summary
We investigated the relationship between guilt proneness and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) using a diverse sample of employed adults working in a variety of different industries at various levels in their organizations. Guilt proneness is an individual difference reflecting a predisposition to experience negative feelings about personal wrongdoing, even when the wrongdoing is private (Cohen, Wolf, Panter, & Insko, 2011; Tangney & Dearing, 2002; Tangney, Stuewig, & Mashek, 2007; Tangney, Youmam, & Stuewig, 2009; Wolf, Cohen, Panter, & Insko, 2010) It is an emotional trait, referring to the anticipation of feeling guilty about committing transgressions, rather than a specific emotional state characterized by guilty feelings in a particular moment or generalized guilty feelings that occur without an eliciting event
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