Interactive Effects of Personality and Perceptions of the Work Situation on Workplace Deviance.

TLDR

Prior work on workplace deviance has examined either personality traits or employees’ situational perceptions as predictors of deviant behavior. This study investigates the joint influence of personality and work‑situation perceptions on workplace deviance. The authors found that positive work‑situation perceptions are associated with lower deviance, and that this protective effect is stronger among employees low in conscientiousness, emotional stability, or agreeableness, indicating that personality moderates the link between perceptions and deviance.

Abstract

Previous research on workplace deviance has examined the relationship of either personality or employees' situational perceptions with deviant behavior. In this study, the authors focused on the joint relationship of personality and perceptions of the work situation with deviant behavior. Using 4 samples of employees and multiple operationalizations of the core constructs, the authors found support for the hypothesis that positive perceptions of the work situation are negatively related to workplace deviance. In addition, consistent with hypotheses, the personality traits of conscientiousness, emotional stability, and agreeableness moderated this relationship. Specifically, the relationship between perceptions of the developmental environment and organizational deviance was stronger for employees low in conscientiousness or emotional stability, and the relationship between perceived organizational support and interpersonal deviance was stronger for employees low in agreeableness.