Bad Behaviors at Work: Spanish Adaptation of the Workplace Deviance Scale

Abstract

Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) refers to a set of negative intentional behaviors that harm organizational outcomes. Despite their consequences, their measurement is a debatable issue. The present study is aimed to validate the Spanish version of one of the most commonly used scales of CWBs, the Workplace Deviance Scale, and to provide further evidence about the reliability and validity of the test scores. Four hundred and thirty-two employees from different organizations participated in the study. They completed a self-report questionnaire with the measures of interest (sociodemographic data, the Workplace Deviance Scale, and scales of organizational citizenship behavior, organizational justice, integrity, and conscientiousness). Descriptive, exploratory structural equation modeling and correlational analyses were performed. Results have shown that the internal structure does not fully reproduce the original one, but the two theoretically expected factors remain. Furthermore, the pattern of associations is barely influenced by the scoring scheme used (factor vs. observed scores), and the associations with other constructs are in line with previous research. On the whole, this study contributes to the analysis of the dimensionality of CWBs, at least in Western countries.