Effects of a Hostile Work Environment on Production Deviance

Production deviance is costly and detrimental to both organizations and the employees within them. The emotion-centered model of counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) provides a framework for the underlying psychological mechanisms that lead to production deviance. It suggests that workplace stressors lead to negative emotions, spurring retaliatory CWB. To inform theory and expand our understanding of this psychological process, I tested a model in which perceptions of a hostile work environment are positively related to production deviance through emotional exhaustion. Individual differences in personality influence how employees perceive and cope with stressful situations. Therefore, I also tested the influence of individual differences in conscientiousness moderate the direct and indirect paths. Results of the analyses from 744 military personnel revealed partial mediation and that conscientiousness moderated the direct path between emotional exhaustion and production deviance (path b). Contrary to my hypotheses, conscientiousness did not moderate the direct effects between hostile work environment and emotional exhaustion (path a), nor did it moderate the path between hostile work environment and production deviance (path c`). Implications for theory and practice are discussed.Psychology, Department o