Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Interpersonal Deviance

Why Study CWB-I

One important reason to study CWB-I is the negative effect it has on employees. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that approximately 20 employees are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted at work each week in the United States. Although most of these incidents are the result of robberies, some of them, particularly the nonfatal ones, are the result of aggression in the workplace. Incidents of aggression can cost employees money in medical bills and time lost from the job. Furthermore, even employees who are not the direct victims of such attacks may feel unsafe at work. This can have direct implications on job performance and absenteeism. Instances of CWB-I such as bullying, interpersonal violence, and harassment (including sexual harassment) cost organizations millions of dollars each year in lost work time, reduced job effectiveness, and lawsuits.

Measuring CWB-I

A number of behavioral scales have been developed to measure the prevalence and seriousness of CWB. All are checklists that ask employees to indicate how often they have engaged in certain behaviors at work. One of the most popular scales is Sandra Robinson and Rebecca Bennett's Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior. This scale divides CWB along two continuums, organizational/personal (CWB-O/CWB-I) and minor/serious. The organizational/personal continuum refers to the target of the behavior—the organization or other individuals working in the organization. The minor/serious continuum refers to how severe the consequences are. This scale allows us to classify CWB within four quadrants: minor acts directed toward the organization, serious acts directed toward the organization, minor acts directed toward individuals, and serious acts directed toward individuals. Minor acts directed toward individuals might include showing favoritism, gossiping, blaming coworkers, and competing nonbeneficially. On the other hand, serious acts directed toward individuals might include verbal abuse, stealing from coworkers, and endangering coworkers. This scale and others similar to it allow us to investigate the antecedents of each type of CWB.

Antecedents of CWB

Behavior is often considered a product of the person and the environment, and CWB-I is no exception: Employees commit CWB because of a complex web of personal and situational antecedents. Characteristics of the person, such as demographics and personality, and the work environment, such as the nature of work and relationships with others, combine to affect a person's behavior.

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