Factors associated with WDB among Malaysian public servants in Sabah

Workplace deviant behavior exists when employees violate the organization’s norms and harm or intend to harm organizations and/or its members. It has negative effects on the organization’s productivity and well-being. This concern has led to numerous researches related to workplace deviant behavior and development of various motivational programs to help employees work efficient and enhance their performances. Workplace deviant behavior is a serious issue that can jeopardize organizational goals if it is not encountered. However, there are limited studies that focus on the predictors of workplace deviant behavior. The objective of this paper is to identify which independent variables (workplace spirituality, personality-based integrity, and job satisfaction) are most important in predicting workplace deviant behavior. The participants of this study comprise of Malaysian public servants in Sabah through simple random and cluster sampling procedures using self-administered questionnaires through the drop and collect method. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The relationships between workplace spirituality, personality-based integrity, and job satisfaction with workplace deviant behavior were negatively significant, it shows higher perceived workplace spirituality, personality-based integrity, and job satisfaction lead to decrease workplace deviant behavior among the respondents. These results also explained, between the three predictor factors (workplace spirituality, personality-based integrity, and job satisfaction), workplace spirituality was achieved the higher value β=-0.961, p<0.001), compared to personality-based integrity (β=-0.808, p<0.001) and job satisfaction, β=-0.784, p