Presented by Dr. Paul Wood paul.wood@opragroup.com 021 972 976

• What is counterproductive workplace behaviour (CWB)?

• The definition of deviance.

• The ingredients of CWBs.

• Common CWB reduction methods.

• Integrity Tests.

• Questions and Answers: The relationships among integrity, personality, and intelligence tests.

• Implications.

• General suggestions for reducing CWBs.

Counterproductive/Deviant Workplace Behaviour

Counterproductive Workplace Behaviour

Organisational Deviance (OD)

Poor quality work Policy violations

Absenteeism Tardiness Go slow

Sabotage Theft

Negative PR

Individual Deviance (ID)

Theft Sabotage

Gossip

Verbal abuse Violence

Counterproductive Workplace Behaviour

“Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) are volitional behaviours that harm or are intended to harm organizations or people in organizations.” - Spector and Fox (2005).

Deviance is defined as departing from usual or accepted standards.

The Definition of Deviance Fr

equ

ency

in P

op

ula

tio

n

Average Less than Average Greater than Average

Counterproductive Behaviour

Cognitive Processing

Individual Differences

Situational Factors

Ingredients of CWBs

Neuroticism Integrity Attributional style Locus of control Conscientiousness Stress tolerance

Leadership style Working conditions Culture Prior outcomes Home life Rules and procedures

Perceptions of inequity or injustice

Attributions of source and stability of inequity

Model adapted from Martinko, Gundlach, and Douglas (2002).

Reduction Methods

Incumbents

Security Policy

Candidates

Integrity Tests

Previous History

Common CWB Reduction methods

General Information:

• Overt and Covert.

• Became popular after 1988 Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

• Used to exclude high-risk candidates.

• Around 14% of North American companies used integrity tests by 1998.

Stanton Survey of Integrity:

• Overt and self-report.

• Well validated.

• Examines work related theft, theft unrelated to work, and company policy violations.

• Makes use of rationalisation

Integrity Tests

Questions and Answers

Questions:

• What are the relationships among intelligence, personality, and integrity?

• Are conscientiousness and integrity the same thing?

• Might predictions of job performance be more accurate if you add an integrity test?

Findings (Study 1):

• Conscientiousness - Integrity relationship weak (explaining 6% of Integrity test variance).

• Neuroticism - Integrity relationship moderate (explaining 19% of Integrity test variance).

• No significant relationships with fluid or crystallised intelligence.

Findings (Study 2): • Conscientiousness - Integrity relationship moderate (explaining 21% of

Integrity test variance). • Neuroticism - Integrity relationship moderate (explaining 18% of

Integrity test variance). • No significant relationships with fluid or crystallised intelligence.

• People who are more suspicious , short-tempered, and sensitive may be slightly more likely to engage in counterproductive behaviour.

• People who are more self-controlled and rule following may be slightly less likely to engage in counterproductive behaviour.

• Different assessments of neuroticism and conscientiousness are likely to have different relationships with CWBs, but neither are likely to be as good at predicting CWBs as dedicated integrity tests.

Implications

Selection:

• Consider the use of Integrity tests to reduce the risk of poor hiring decisions.

• Consider your organisational culture/climate and make sure you provide a realistic job preview.

General Operation:

• Clearly communicate the causes of undesirable outcomes, and their temporary nature.

• Clearly communicate what constitutes acceptable /unacceptable behaviours.

• Establish more communication channels for employees to express needs and concerns – be seen to act on those concerns!

General Suggestions

• Counterproductive Workplace Behaviours occur as the result of individual differences, situational factors, and cognitive processing (perceptions and attributions).

• Organisations attempt to reduce CWBs through increasing security and attempting to exclude high-risk candidates.

• Integrity tests are a common and effective way to identify high-risk candidates.

• Relationships among personality traits and integrity tests indicate relatively more neurotic and expedient individuals may be slightly more prone to CWBs.

• Organisations attempting to reduce CWBs will benefit if they exclude high-risk candidates via integrity tests and institute communication strategies and policies designed to reduce the conditions that lead to incumbent CWBs.

Reduce your selection of bad apples and make sure you don’t have a bad barrel!

Recap