- Choose one Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) from the abuse against others category and one CWB from the production deviance category. Examine at least two possible causes of each CWB. Next, provide at least one example of the potential impact of each chosen CWB on an organization.
- Using the two causes of each CWB you selected, suggest the course of action an employer could take to change the employees’ behaviors and to address the possible diagnosed contributors to those CWBs. Justify your response.
see slide notes below:
Topic
Narration
1
Introduction
Welcome to Performance Management. In this lesson, we will be discussing diagnosing, understanding, and dealing with counterproductive work behavior.
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2
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
Analyze how organizations use performance management as a learning tool to ensure that the desired behaviors are rewarded.
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3
Topics
Specifically, we will discuss the following topics:
Diagnosing counterproductive work behaviors; and,
Dealing with counterproductive work behaviors
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4
Counterproductive Work Behaviors Defined
Counterproductive work behaviors fall into the category of “I know it when I see it.” While you may actually know-it-when-you-see-it, let’s start the lecture with a definition of counterproductive work behaviors.
These are “Volitional acts that harm or intend to harm organizations and their stakeholders. For example, clients, co-workers, customers, and supervisors.” We will refer to counterproductive work behaviors as CWB during the rest of the lecture.
Evidence points to a prevalent problem of CWB. It is estimated that up to 75 percent of employees have engaged in theft, computer fraud, embezzlement, vandalism, sabotage, or fraudulent absenteeism; the cost of which these CWBs may reach the hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
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5
Types of CWBs
There are two main types of CWBs, abuse against others and production deviance.
Let’s define each and then discuss each in detail.
Abuse against others are behaviors “that cause or are intended to cause physical or psychological harm to other organization constituents.” These appear to be emotional-based and related to hostile aggression. These behaviors include incivility, aggression or violence, and sexual harassment.
Production Deviance is “acts of displaced aggression typically targeted at organizations rather than individuals.” They include sabotage, theft and withdrawal.
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6
Abuse Against Others
There are three types of abuse among others. Let’s first discuss the mild form of abuse, which is incivility, and then the more severe behaviors such as workplace violence and sexual harassment.
Incivility is classified as low-intensity deviant behaviors, which may include taking credit where credit is not due, spreading rumors, or simply not picking up after oneself in the company cafeteria. While these may appear harmless or trivial, over time, these incivilities can have short-term and long-term consequences to the individuals involved or targeted and the organization.
Another abuse against others is workplace aggression or violence. Research points to the root cause of workplace aggression to often be unaddressed incivility. While we may not hear of violence in the workplace in our daily news very often, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimated that up to eighteen thousand people a week are attacked by someone while they are at work.
The last form of abuse against others we will discuss comes in two forms. Sexual harassment is classified as either quid pro quo, which is when unwelcomed and unsolicited sexual advances are tied to a form of workplace punishment or implied for advancement, while the second is a hostile workplace, which are unwelcome behaviors that causes emotional distress to the individual to which the unwelcomed behaviors are targeted. Both forms of sexual harassment are illegal based on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
No matter what the abuse may be, any of these actions makes for an unwelcoming and often unproductive workplace.
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7
Production Deviance
We will talk about two forms of production deviance.
First, employee sabotage entails damaging or destroying an organization’s property. This form of deviance costs employers approximately two-hundred-billion-dollars per year.
Second, theft can be minor, like claiming office supplies for your home office, or severe, as in embezzlement. Theft in the workplace is prevalent. A study published in the year 2000 revealed that up to 75 percent of employees admitted to taking an employer’s property home on at least one occasion. The cost to organizations of theft is estimated to be between sixty-billion-dollars to one-hundred-twenty-billion-dollars a year.
Lastly, withdrawal behaviors such as taking a sick day when not needed, arriving late to work or leaving work early, stem from avoidance or escapism reasons.
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8
Diagnosing CWB Causes
Only when the root cause of the counterproductive work behavior is revealed can a manager properly address the issue. A common error for managers to make is referred to the fundamental attribution error. It’s a form of bias in which a person’s behavior is thought to be due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of the situational factors.
Misdiagnosing at this stage can result in time wasted fixing the wrong problem, which could also cause the problem to escalate.
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9
Check Your Understanding
10
Causes of CWB
There are a few common categories of CWB causes. Let’s discuss those next.
Individual contributors can lead to CWBs. These include substance abuse, divorce, sick family members, financial difficulties, or even personality traits such as anger, to name just a few. These types of problems are to be handled delicately in the workplace, as laws are in place to protect workers privacy. Due to laws and the cost of these problems, many employers have Employee Assistance Programs in place as a neutral way of intervening when employees are facing individual issues.
Poorly functioning interpersonal relationships can also be a cause for CWBs. Whether relationships are strained with a supervisor or with peers, the result may lead to more severe abuses, such as sabotage, theft, or even workplace aggression or violence.
Another cause of counterproductive work behaviors is a feeling of injustice in the workplace, which can take the form of not getting a promotion, feeling singled out, or not receiving credit when it is due. Acting out, whether towards individuals or the organization, are typically focused on restoring what employees believe they lost or deserve as a result of the perceived inequity.
Job dissatisfaction, situational constraints, and organizational climate can also lead to CWB, such as sabotage, theft, tardiness, and production deviance. Setting the right tone in the organization and providing the right tools for the employees to do their work are ways to counter these types of causes.
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11
Dealing with CWB
Now that we diagnosed or identified some of the common causes of CWB, let’s get to how to address or deal with the behavior.
We will first discuss the non-punitive approaches.
One non-punitive approach is having the manager first make sense of the problems, which is also referred to as alignment. It is a way of handling the problem in a non-confrontational manner by giving feedback, coaching the individual, giving resources that are appropriate and holding group sessions instead of singling out one person when appropriate.
Another non-punitive approach is to give feedback, either corrective or constructive. These may work effectively for non-severe CWB.
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12
Self-Management
Another means to address CWB is through self-management. This is a set of behavioral and cognitive strategies that help people structure their environment, including the environment at work, and involves self motivation and understanding of the behaviors needed to meet performance standards or goals. The key behind this method is thought to be self-efficacy, or one’s belief in his or her capability to attain certain goals.
Self-efficacy works by influencing an individual’s choices about what behaviors to undertake, how much effort should be exerted, and how long to persist when obstacles are confronted. Someone with a high self-efficacy would persist longer at dealing with the problem than someone with a lower self-efficacy.
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13
Punishment
Punishment is sometimes necessary in dealing with some causes of CWB. Matter of fact, the law will penalize organizations that fail to take action when called for.
When sizing up the punishment appropriate for the CWB, research indicates that managers often rely heavily on their organization’s consistency norms in making punishment decisions, whereas line managers place less emphasis on the past treatment of employees. This inconsistency needs to be addressed in the workplace in order to prevent a lawsuit that could surface from an employee who felt punished inconsistently from others having exhibited the same CWB.
Research reveals that on average, recipients do view discipline as effective in changing behavior and increasing awareness of expectations; however, different research reveals there can be negative consequences from the punishment. These include anger or embarrassment, a loss of respect for the manager or the organization, and dissatisfaction of the job.
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14
Progressive Discipline
Occasionally one disciplinary action does not deal entirely with the CWB. In some cases, progressive discipline may be called for. In these cases, managers formally, directly, and promptly communicate problems, including performance deficiencies, to employees. The sanction may be verbal warnings or written warnings, suspension, or termination.
Figuring out an appropriate sanction for the severity of the CWB can be aided with the help of these following criteria.
One, the extent to which the incident created disruption to the workflow;
Two, damage to products or equipment;
Three, whether a safety hazard was created;
Four, whether a customer or employee suffered bodily harm;
Five, conduct in light of training or professional norms;
Six, whether the behavior was a legal violation;
Seven, if the behavior resulted in misappropriation of resources;
Eight, the impact on morale of co-workers;
Nine, whether the behavior is a danger signal for more serious problems;
Ten, if the employee’s actions damaged the image of the organization; and,
Eleven, if the problem undermined management’s authority.
In addition to the severity of the punishment, managers should consider the ease with which the behavior can be corrected, how similar issues were dealt with in the past, and the employee’s past performance and tenure when determining an appropriate punishment.
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15
Discipline Recommendations
Research results indicate that a thorough investigation, planning, and preparation are essential to making disciplinary efforts effective. Additionally, here are other recommendations for making sanction decisions and holding a disciplinary meeting. They are:
One, determine whether there are legal issues that should be taken into account;
Two, consider only work-related factors. For example, do not mix a known pending divorce of the performer into the situation;
Three, apply policies and decision-making rules consistently;
Four, allow employees a voice in the discipline process;
Five, make the punishment consistent with the severity of the offense;
Six, provide managers with discipline-related training;
Seven, provide employees with clear explanations coupled with apologies for the ill effect on the recipient;
Eight, communicate clear performance expectations;
Nine, communicate specific consequences for future infractions;
Ten, provide employees with sufficient time to improve their performance or change their behavior; and,
Eleven, express confidence in the employee’s ability to improve.
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16
Termination
Occasionally a termination is called for after a manager’s attempts to deal with the counterproductive work behavior fails to produce the desired results. The failure to promptly terminate poor performers or problem performers has been cited as one of the most costly legal mistakes that employers make.
While the decision to terminate a performer should be made swiftly, it should not be done hastily. There are two issues to consider when in the position to terminate an employee. First, what are the legal parameters that may place restrictions on employee termination? Reviewing the appropriate at-will employment, contractual employment, and collective bargaining doctrine is important in order to prevent a future lawsuit from the terminated employee. Second, how should the termination be communicated to the employee? Avoiding blame and the perception of injustice may also prevent a future lawsuit from being filed by the terminated employee.
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17
Check Your Understanding
18
Summary
We have now reached the end of this lesson. Let’s take a look at what we covered.
We started the lecture by defining counterproductive work behaviors, also known as CWB. “Volitional acts that harm or intend to harm organizations and their stakeholders. For example, clients, co-workers, customers, and supervisors.”
We discussed two categories of CWB and five subcategories. The first, abuse against others, includes incivility, workplace aggression and violence, and sexual harassment. The second, production deviance, involves sabotage, theft, and withdrawal.
We then moved to discussing the importance of properly diagnosing CBW. A misdiagnosis results in wasted time and can cause the CWB to escalate. There are several categories of CWB causes. They include:
One, individual contributors;
Two, poorly functioning interpersonal relationships at work;
Three, feeling of injustice;
Four, job dissatisfaction;
Five, situational constraints; and
Six, organizational culture.
We then moved to dealing with CWB. We examined non-punitive approaches, such as alignment and feedback, and self management. When assessing the situation to apply the appropriate punishment, managers should consider the criteria posed, as well as the discipline recommendations posed in the lecture.
We concluded the lecture discussing the reality that termination may be warranted. The two areas to review before the termination occurs are the legal parameters involving the employee and the manner in which the termination is communicated to the employee. Both of these areas warrant thorough diligence in order to prevent a future lawsuit from the terminated employee.
This completes this lesson.