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Deception

Deception occurs when people present inaccurate information in order to mislead an audience. From forcing a smile for annoying customers to claiming that a task will take less time to complete than is necessary, sociologists of work have observed that deceptions are routine events in workplaces. Workers act deceptively as an adaptive tool to manage demands that their jobs place on them. These demands include cultivating a desired workplace appearance, administrating their work effectively, competing for upward mobility, and preserving autonomy against workplace scrutiny.

Arguing that deception is a routine behavior may go against a prevailing belief that only amoral individuals lie. To a sociologist, though, any approach that explains deceptions primarily as the product of poorly socialized individuals overlooks how aspects of workplace environments can make lying a functional and commonplace behavior. From a sociological perspective, deceptions constitute more than unethical behaviors by morally unsound individuals; they are instead reactive behaviors to incentives and motives that exist in many workplace environments. Although numerous cases of crime involve deceptions by amoral workers, such as Ponzi schemes, those criminal acts are only one subset of workplace deceptions.

Many deceptions occur at the behest of employers. For example, some deceptions are implicit parts of organizational cultures, such as appearing to agree with organizational decisions in public settings while hiding private disagreement. Many people who act deceptively while at work do not perceive themselves as unprincipled or dishonest individuals. Conversely, they see themselves as acting appropriately for their work environment.

Deception is an opportunistic behavior; however, deceptive acts are also functional means for workers to meet individual and employer goals. One finding from studies of workplace deception is how often deception is required in order to do a good job and fulfill expectations. Instead of constituting moral aberrations, a sociologist of work might argue that engaging in or encountering deceptions is a normal part of going to work every day.

Everyday Workplace Deceptions

What kinds of lies or deceptions occur at work? Consider some common examples from David Shulman's recent book, From Hire to Liar: The Role of Deception in the Workplace. People hide surfing the Web instead of doing work. They text during meetings and feign paying attention. Insincere flatterers burrow their ways into a department head's heart. They ignore inconvenient obligations to follow rules but pretend to be rule abiding. They blame others for problems that they did not cause. They grit their teeth and cater to irritating customers and supervisors. They conceal shortcomings and help coworkers hide transgressions. People with work experience have all encountered at least some version of exaggerated résumés, exploitative bosses, self-interested shirking, collusion against disliked colleagues, and lying to clients. In addition to these more hidden everyday deceptions, there are also some jobs where work responsibilities explicitly require workers to act deceptively. For example, undercover officers must impersonate drug buyers and prostitutes, consultants pose as mystery shoppers to evaluate customer service, and corporate public relations specialists and political consultants cover up problems for their clients.

Reasons for Acting Deceptively at Work

Melville Dalton's Men Who Manage (1959) is a touchstone for research on deception as a routine behavior in the workplace. Dalton identified everyday workplace deceptions at managerial and lower levels in two production facilities. These deceptions included “sweetened” records to cover up workplace injuries and safety violations, covert discrimination against workers, conspiracies to manipulate production quotas, conversion of company resources to personal ends, the rejection of innovative ideas and efficient practices because of managerial rivalries or disliking their proponents, hidden collaborations between union representatives and managers, and the administrative cultivation of secret informers among lower-level workers. Dalton's ethnographic data show that engaging in deceptive behaviors accomplished many legitimate administrative goals. For example, lying helped managers in recruiting, production, retention, and decision making. Secret alliances between management and union officials smoothed over labor troubles, and recruiting bonus payments were hidden in secret timecard punching. More than any other sociologist of organizations and work, Dalton demonstrated that the administrative functionality of deception hides in plain sight.

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