Workplace Deviance Research Articles

Work Engagement as the Mediator of the Relationship between Workplace Civility and Workplace Deviant Behaviour among Employees of Tertiary Institutions in Zamfara State

This study explores the relationship between workplace civility, work engagement and workplace deviant behaviour, as well as the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between workplace civility and workplace deviant behaviour. To this end, a survey was developed and administered to 424 employees across the selected tertiary institutions in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyse the data collected. Results show that workplace civility has negative and significant effect on workplace deviant behaviour. Additionally, work engagement is also found to significantly mediate the relationship between workplace civility and workplace deviant behaviour. The study concluded that employers should promote a culture of workplace civility in order to maintain employee engagement and reduce workplace deviance. Furthermore, employers should also strive to foster an atmosphere of respect and appreciation among employees. The implications for further research on the topic are discussed.

Dispositional Malicious Envy and Workplace Deviance: Divergent Thinking as a Mediator

In the extant scholarship, researchers have claimed that malicious envy has a significant relationship with workplace deviance. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of scholarship detailing how employees can display workplace deviance in an organizational context without being caught. This study aims to examine an association between dispositional malicious envy and workplace deviance, mediated by divergent thinking through the lens of social comparison theory. Data was collected via a cross-sectional survey from employees ( N = 363) working in Pakistan’s banking and telecom sector. The study results reveal that dispositional malicious envy can lead to workplace deviance via the divergent thinking mediation effect. This study adds to the limited scholarship about how dispositional malicious envy relates to workplace deviance in the organizational setting, particularly when employees make lateral comparisons.

Negative impression management: the troublemaker as trouble seeker

Extending the discourse on impression management, we explore a counter-intuitive workplace deviance phenomenon whereby employees aim to get themselves fired from their jobs. Employing exploratory qualitative methods, we collected evidence from employees who practice deliberate negative impression management (NIM), from parties who witnessed NIM, and from Human Resource (HR) managers who have dealt with NIM, in two distinct geographies: Israel and Taiwan. The paper outlines the diverse sources of NIM, its specified and unspecified aims, its actual consequences, and its prevalence. This unique dataset offers insights that extend our understanding of impression management theory and practice, serving as a mean to explicating a variant of deviant behavior at the workplace and providing information to HR personnel on ways to engage with the issue.

The relationship between institutional climate and constructive deviance

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of organizational climates on constructive workplace deviance by examining staff attitudes to four dimensions of institutional climate: academic; administrative; developmental; and financial. Though carried out with exclusively academic staff working in university environments, it has considerable potential as a pilot for adaptation to the needs of managers and carers working with intellectually challenged offenders and their families.Design/methodology/approachData from a purposive (non-probability) sample of 357 academicians used in technical education in public or private organizations were collected electronically using a Likert-type questionnaire. Analytic techniques used in this study include measurement model assessment and structural equation modeling.FindingsRespondents indicated that institutional climate significantly influences employees in how they exhibit constructive deviance in their workplace behavior. Practices such as whistle blowing, prosocial rule-breaking and openly expressing their concerns are common symptoms exhibited in constructive deviant behavior. An employee who is positively influenced by the organization’s climate would stand up against any policy or activity that could disrupt or harm the company’s operations and reputation. Results imply that, of the four climate variables analysed, financial climate has the most influence on positive deviance, followed by developmental and administrative climates, with academic climate having the least influence.Practical implicationsThe current study’s target population is the academicians working as faculty members in the field of technical education, having multiple implications for the management of institutions. The findings of the study emphasize the significance of their workplace policies and ethics. Given the indication that financial climate appeared to be the most influential of the dimensions under study, this would emphasize the need to develop an environment where there is no irrelevant discrimination in pay based solely on gender, caste or creed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to understand and describe its four key elements together as contributory factors to constructive deviance in an organization.

When and Why Does Workplace Deviance Lead to Reparative Behaviors? A Moral Cleansing Perspective

When and Why Does Workplace Deviance Lead to Reparative Behaviors? A Moral Cleansing Perspective

Dark Triad Personality Traits, Locus of Control and Workplace Deviance among Lawyers: Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement

Background. This study is conducted to investigate the role of moral disengagement as mediator between dark triad personality traits (machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and workplace deviance among lawyers. Additionally, the mediating role of moral disengagement between internal locus of control which is dimension of LOC (locus of control) and external control locus (powerful others and chance locus of control dimensions) among lawyers were also explored. Method. This is a cross-sectional research design, in which, purposive sampling technique is used. The sample comprised of 300 lawyers working under supervision of senior lawyers as their junior advocates/associates including genders, men and women, with age ranging from 22 to 46 years. The Measure of Short Dark Triad Scale by Jones & Paulhus, 2014, Propensity to Morally Disengage Scale by Moore et al., 2012, Multidimensional Locus of Control Scale by Levenson, 1981 and Workplace Deviance Scale modified for lawyers by Bennett & Robinson, 2000 were used. Results. Results of this study showed that moral disengagement acted as mediator between dark triad personality traits and workplace deviance. As well as moral disengagement has showed mediation between subscales of dark triad personality traits which include machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Furthermore, results revealed that moral disengagement did not play role as a mediator in internal locus of control and workplace deviance, showing a negative relationship, but moral disengagement positively mediated the relationship between powerful others and chance locus of control which are external control locus dimensions.

Fear of COVID-19, workplace phobia, workplace deviance and perceived organizational support: A moderated mediation model.

This paper aims to test a moderated-mediation model examining therelationships between Fear of COVID-19, workplace phobia, work deviance behaviourand perceived organizational support among hotel employees. An online questionnaire was administered to collect data, to which 481 responded. Data was collected from full-time frontline employees working in the Maldivian hospitality industry. The moderated-mediation model explained 44% of the variance in workplace deviance behaviourscan be predicted bythe fear of COVID-19, perceived organisational support and workplace phobia. The findingsshowthat perceived organizational support reduces the negative impact of COVID-19 fear on workplace phobia and deviance. Results suggest that to reduce the negative effect of the pandemic, organisations should adopt support measures across different managerial levels at different scales rather than providing one-size-fits-all solutions.

Linking Interpersonal Communication with Workplace Deviance through Transmittal Mediation Effect of Interpersonal Conflict

This study aims to find the mediation effect of interpersonal conflict between the relation of interpersonal communication and workplace deviance. The sample of the study was 233 doctors, selected from hospitals in tri-city (Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula). Interpersonal communication (IC), interpersonal conflict (IPC), and workplace deviance (WPD) variables were measured using standardized scale items. In the study, PLS-SEM was used to test the hypotheses. It was found that interpersonal conflict was specifically correlated adversely with interpersonal communication and favourably with workplace deviance. Further, the findings showed that interpersonal conflict significantly indirectly affected the relationship between interpersonal communication and workplace deviance. Finally, the implications and future scope of research were discussed.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Workplace Deviance from 2004 to 2020

AbstractPurpose: The primary goal is to offer a bibliometric study of the work on workplace deviation between 2004 and 2020 till December. 650research publications were examined out of 292 finalised final considerations. The research aims to identify the most significant journalsin this field, the most cited publications in a specific year, and notable authors. After that, an inter-country co-authorship network map ismade available.Methodology: Author used the Web of Sciences database to look at the information about the different papers in the study and also usedthe VOS viewer software to make maps of keyword occurrence,co-authorship network ship between countries, and maps of coauthorship.Findings: The results of this study prove that the leading publication in the year 2017, the most influential journal, is the Journal ofBusiness Ethics. The most cited paper is about developing a measure of workplace deviance. Furthermore, the most prominent authors areBennett, R. J., and Robinson, S. L. (2000). The United States and the state university of Florida are the countries and schools with the mostpatents.Originality/Value: This study provides comprehensive literature on workplace deviance and a reliable picture of this area usingbibliometric techniques. The study results help future authors interested in researching this topic.Keywords: Bibliometric analysis, Vosviewer, Workplace deviance

Workplace deviance, emotional state and reparative behaviors: task visibility as a boundary condition in a mediated moderation model

PurposeGrounding upon moral cleansing and self-completion theories, this paper examines how workplace deviant behavior motivates employees to engage in subsequent compensatory actions—organizational citizenship behavior and prosocial behavior—triggered by the state of moral emotion – guilt. The article also explores and tests the role of task characteristics—task visibility—as a boundary condition in the guilt-mediated relationship between deviant employee behavior and compensatory behaviors.Design/methodology/approachA survey study on 396 full-time employees working for organizations operating in various industries is conducted to test the hypothesized mediated moderation model empirically. The authors conducted a structural equation modeling to provide empirical evidence for the proposed hypotheses.FindingsOffering both theoretical and practical implications, the findings of the study revealed that a deviance-triggered state of guilt encourages subsequent reparative actions, such as organizational citizenship behavior and prosocial behaviors. The results also showed that the level of task visibility had a significant role as a boundary condition in the relationships between workplace deviant behavior and reparative behaviors.Originality/valueUnlike previous research, which mainly found a negative connection between harming actions (i.e. deviant behavior) and helping behaviors (i.e. citizenship and prosocial behavior), this paper investigated and found how the state of guilt could be a mediator to link workplace deviant behavior to organizational citizenship behavior and prosocial behavior through moral cleansing and self-completion processes.

Too smart to work hard? Investigating why overqualified employees engage in time theft behaviors

AbstractIntegrating the theory of workplace deviance with person–environment fit theory, we propose a two‐pathway model to explain why and how employees who feel overqualified engage in time theft behavior. Specifically, we anticipate that feeling overqualified will negatively influence focal employees' experienced authority fairness and erode their work meaningfulness, which in turn will lead to increased time theft behavior. Further, we argue that voice endorsement serves as a key boundary condition mitigating the negative effects of perceived overqualification. We conducted two multi‐waved and multi‐sourced field studies to test our proposed hypotheses. Study 1 (247 employees and 47 supervisors) revealed that perceived overqualification is associated with time theft behavior through the mediators of experienced authority fairness and meaningfulness. Study 2 (405 employees and 73 supervisors) replicated the findings of Study 1 and tested our full model. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

The Career Consequences of Workplace Protest Participation: Theory and Evidence from the NFL “Take a Knee” Movement

Despite recognizing potential ramifications for employees who protest in the workplace, researchers rarely explore the career consequences that stem from such instances of workplace protest participation. We integrated research on employee activism, workplace deviance, and careers to theorize that workplace protest represents a perceived deviation from workplace norms that can influence an individual’s organizational and labor market mobility outcomes. We investigated this premise with the 2016 National Football League “take a knee” protests as a strategic research setting. The results indicate that protesting is associated with an increase in organizational exit although this effect is moderated by the degree to which the organization is sensitive to the underlying social movement (with an organization’s movement sensitivity operationalized with a four-part index composed of the team’s managers, personnel decision makers, owners, and customers). Protesting also is associated with labor market sorting across organizations as players who protest are more likely to make subsequent transitions to more movement-sensitive teams compared with players who do not protest. Overall, our findings offer contributions for research on employee activism, workplace deviance, and careers.

The Career Consequences of Workplace Protest Participation: Theory and Evidence from the NFL “Take a Knee” Movement

Despite recognizing potential ramifications for employees who protest in the workplace, researchers rarely explore the career consequences that stem from such instances of workplace protest participation. We integrated research on employee activism, workplace deviance, and careers to theorize that workplace protest represents a perceived deviation from workplace norms that can influence an individual’s organizational and labor market mobility outcomes. We investigated this premise with the 2016 National Football League “take a knee” protests as a strategic research setting. The results indicate that protesting is associated with an increase in organizational exit although this effect is moderated by the degree to which the organization is sensitive to the underlying social movement (with an organization’s movement sensitivity operationalized with a four-part index composed of the team’s managers, personnel decision makers, owners, and customers). Protesting also is associated with labor market sorting across organizations as players who protest are more likely to make subsequent transitions to more movement-sensitive teams compared with players who do not protest. Overall, our findings offer contributions for research on employee activism, workplace deviance, and careers.

The Effect of Negative Workplace Gossip about Supervisor on Workplace Deviance and Impression Management: The Mediating Roles of Anxiety and Guilt

The Effect of Negative Workplace Gossip about Supervisor on Workplace Deviance and Impression Management: The Mediating Roles of Anxiety and Guilt

How General is General Strain Theory? An Inquiry of Workplace Deviance in Iran

Occupational deviance is one of the most rampant and alarming phenomena in the workplace. It can have negative effects on the individual employee, the organization, the profession, and the larger society. Therefore, it is important to better understand the etiology of such behavior in the hopes of providing solutions to reduce it. One such theory that may provide a conceptual framework to help understand workplace deviance is Agnew's general strain theory. As such, the main goal of this research was to examine the predictive utility of general strain theory in explaining workplace deviance. Using a sample of 336 private bankers in Iran, the findings suggest that the important theoretical concepts of workplace strain, subjective strain, negative emotion, and deviant motivation all predicted workplace misconduct. Consistent with the theory, additional results demonstrated important mediated relationships, such that strain was indirectly related to workplace deviance through negative emotions and deviant motivation. Specific results, policy implications, and study limitations are discussed.

Review Of The Scoping: The Value Of Diversity Management In Preventing Deviant Behavior At Work

Reviews of the literature on diversity management and workplace misconduct are still incredibly uncommon. Given the requirement for appropriate handling to stop irregular conduct at work (organizations; companies, government institutions, MSMEs). This scoping review's objective is to summarize the literature on the value of diversity management in avoiding workplace deviance. The scoping study adheres to the Arksey and O'Malley Steps. (2005). The scoping review used has 5 steps, including identifying research topics, finding pertinent studies, Specifically, (1) formulating research questions, (2) locating pertinent studies, (3) choosing studies, (4) outlining data, and (5) gathering, describing, and disclosing findings. Over 11 years, this research was reviewed using 3 electronic databases: Taylor dan Francis, Wiley dan Emerald. (2013-2023). Corruption, the giving of gifts or bribes, and gossip are among the categories of deviant behavior in the workplace that were identified, and all of these categories have the potential to negatively impact organizational performance, according to the findings of the scoping review. Gender, race, and culture are three types of diversity that are particularly susceptible to the issue of aberrant behavior in the workplace. Therefore, management must provide support and focus, particularly to human resource managers who are responsible for managing diversity in the workplace.

Abusive supervision and deviance behaviors in the hospitality industry: The role of intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluation

Workplace deviance poses a significant challenge in the hospitality and tourism industries. Based on conservation of resources theory, we develop a model proposing relationships between abusive supervision and frontline employees' deviant behaviors via their intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluation. We validate it with two surveys targeting 200 and 600 hotel frontline employees. Results confirm the detrimental impacts of abusive supervision on frontline employees’ deviant behaviors and the helpful mediating and moderating impacts of their intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluation. Courses of action are proposed to reduce the various human and financial costs at the individual, organizational, social and societal levels.

The influence of perceived organizational exploitation on frontline hospitality employees’ workplace deviance: an organizational justice perspective

PurposeDrawing on organizational justice theory, this study aims to investigate how perceived organizational exploitation induces frontline hospitality employees’ organizational and interpersonal deviance. Specifically, this study explored the mediating effect of distributive and procedural justice, as well as the moderating effect of justice sensitivity.Design/methodology/approachThe focal research analyzed multiphase survey data from 267 frontline service employees with structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results revealed that perceived organizational exploitation induced frontline hospitality employees’ organizational and interpersonal deviance through their perceptions of distributive and procedural justice. Moreover, employees’ justice sensitivity amplified perceived organizational exploitation’s harmful impact on justice perceptions and its conditional influence on organizational and interpersonal deviance.Practical implicationsOrganizations should take actions to reduce the occurrence of exploitation to prevent employees’ workplace deviance behaviors. Moreover, organizations can foster employees’ justice perceptions and take care of employees with strong justice sensitivity to reduce the destructive behaviors triggered by organizational exploitation.Originality/valueBy investigating frontline employees’ workplace deviant behaviors, this research identifies new outcomes of exploitation by hospitality organizations. Moreover, the research contributes by offering a justice-based perspective to understand the effects of perceived organizational exploitation. Furthermore, this research helps identify a new boundary condition of being exploited by organizations.

Decent Work and Workplace Deviance Among Chinese Physicians: A Relative Deprivation Perspective.

Managing workplace deviance has long been a hot topic in the organizational research. However, the mechanisms through which decent work affects workplace deviance have yet to be fully understood. Drawing upon relative deprivation theory, this study examines the relationship between decent work and workplace deviance by focusing on the mediating role of relative deprivation and the moderating role of career calling. Two waves of data from 307 doctors and 61 supervisors of public hospitals in central China were examined using a the moderated mediation model. Decent work is negatively associated with workplace deviance via the mediation of relative deprivation, and the negative relationship between decent work and relative deprivation is negatively moderated by career calling. The mediating role of relative deprivation is moderated by career calling, and the indirect effect is stronger when career calling is high than when it is low. By focusing on the mediating role of relative deprivation and the moderating role of career calling, this study contributes to the literature by addressing the previously unexamined relationship between decent work and workplace deviance. Moreover, this study responds to calls for research on decent work from the perspective of relative deprivation.

When Abusive Supervision Increases Workplace Deviance: The Moderating Role of Psychological Safety and Organizational Identification

This study offers new insights into the moderators between abusive supervision and workplace deviance. Building on the conservation of resources theory, the study introduces coping resources as moderators between abusive supervision and the two dimensions of workplace deviance, that is, interpersonal and o rganizational deviance. The study identifies psychological safety, an intrapsychic state, as a moderator between abusive supervision and interpersonal deviance. Similarly, the research tests organizational identification as a moderator between abusive supe rvision and organizational deviance. The study tests the hypotheses by collecting two source of data from various Pakistani organizations. The two source data from 122 supervisor subordinate dyads provide support for the results. The study finds that low p sychological safety strengthens the positive link between abusive supervision and interpersonal deviance. Besides, a low level of identification with an organization strengthens the positive association between abusive supervision and organizational devian ce. Thus, the study extends the literature by highlighting the importance of several personal and coping resources for employees at work.