Agreeableness and conscientiousness as antecedents of deviant behavior in workplace

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in the interest of workplace deviant behavior (WDB) among industrial and organizational psychologists. Many scholars believe that WDB decreases overall organizational productivity. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of both agreeableness and conscientiousness (two factors of big five model of personality traits) with deviant behavior. The study also looked at the role of two demographic factors (gender and age) on deviant behavior in workplace. Data were collected from 212 subjects who were working as civil servants in Malaysia using a set of questionnaire that measures the variables studied. The results showed that personality traits predicted workplace deviant behavior. There were negative relationships between agreeableness and conscientiousness with workplace deviance. Although the findings of the present study showed differences in WDB between subjects with different age levels, it was unable to find differences in WDB between subjects with different gender. Implications for future research are discussed.