Not bad, just unhappy: diminished well-being as a motive for interpersonal deviance

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between diminished employee well-being and interpersonal deviance. Design/methodology/approach In a survey, 380 employees from 107 organizations were asked about their psychological and social well-beings. Participants reported their experiences of irritation, depression and anxiety for psychological well-being. A modified scale of social well-being captured participants’ scores on social integration and social acceptance. Respondents also self-reported incidents of interpersonal deviance against coworkers. Findings The results demonstrate that only irritation, not depression or anxiety, was positively related to interpersonal deviance. Socially accepting individuals were less likely to engage in deviant acts against their coworkers. Furthermore, respondents scoring high on both neuroticism and depression were reporting more acts of interpersonal deviance. Research limitations/implications Based on these findings, the role of intent in the study of workplace deviance is discussed. Practical implications The findings of this study suggest that diminished well-being can be a catalyst for other negative outcomes in the workplace. Management should be concerned with the affective state of employees as the experiences of one person may translate into experiences for others. Given the complexity of human experiences, decision makers in organizations should consider emotional state and experiences in developing practices for deviance prevention. Attention and intervention initiatives devoted to improving well-being and social health of employees might be more effective than discipline policies. Originality/value Deviant behaviors are often conceptualized as intentional acts. The findings of this research paper provide some evidence that factors other than harmful intend may motivate transgressions against coworkers.

Collective harmony as a moderator of the association between other-referent upward counterfactual thinking and depression

“…Indeed, more recent findings indicate that frequent other-referent upward counterfactual thinking is associated with greater intensity and experience of negative emotions, such as anger, irritation, and frustration (Allen et al, 2014;De Cremer & van Dijk, 2011). Such emotions are associated with increased depression (e.g., Abi-Habib & Luyten, 2013;Markova, 2018;Zajenkowska, Jasielska, & Melonowska, 2019). Thus, our result contradicts the proposal that other-referent upward counterfactual thinking may regulate negative emotions by deflecting blame away from the self (Roese & Epstude, 2017;Rye et al, 2008).…”

Coping with workplace ostracism: the roles of emotional exhaustion and resilience in deviant behavior

“…When employees experience isolation or exclusion in an organization, they may feel as if they are being treated unfairly in organizational relationships and as if the basic need of belonging is not being met (Zadro et al, 2004). To maintain fairness, they might voluntarily engage in deviant behavior in response to the ostracism, such as theft, vandalism, and absenteeism (Bennett and Robinson, 2000;Markova and Gergana, 2018). Thus, it is inferred that workplace ostracism is positively related to employees' deviant behavior.…”

“…Deviant behavior is voluntary behavior that significantly violates organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization, its members, or both (Aquino and Bradfield, 1999; Markova and Gergana, 2018; Robinson and Bennett, 1995). According to the CWB-OCB emotion model (Spector and Fox, 2002), deviant behavior is voluntary work behavior.…”

Depletion of psychological, financial, and social resources in the hospitality sector during the pandemic

“…Hence, it is a valuable addition to the literature, particularly on COR, because it explains how resource depletion in employees leads to interpersonal deviance. Previous studies have examined leadership ( Gill et al, 2016 ; Haider et al, 2018 ; Markova, 2018 ) and personality traits ( Pletzer et al, 2020 ; Tenzer and Yang, 2019 ) in elaborating interpersonal deviance. However, our study focuses on predictors of interpersonal deviance using psychological factors.…”