Violating organizational and social norms in the workplace: a correlational study in the nursing context. / Violare le norme organizzative e sociali nei luoghi di lavoro: studio correlazionale nel contest infermieristico.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine, in a sample of nurses, the relationships between the organizational context variables (i.e., workload, interpersonal conflicts, organizational constraints), the burnout, the moral disengagement, and the counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), within their clinical work settings. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational study was conducted in a sample of 347 nurses working in different clinical settings in a big university hospital in Central Italy. A self-report questionnaire was used for data collection, using several scales to assess different variables related to the organisational context, the burnout, the interpersonal strain, the moral disengagement, and the CWB. RESULTS: The clinical context was found to influence nurses' organizational wellbeing, which in turn was found to foster CWB. Nurses working in outpatients settings and in day hospitals were those who reported the lowest CWB, in comparison with nurses working in the Emergency Department and in the General Medicine Units. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study are important for nursing professional chiefs and for any professional involved in the promotion of workers' wellbeing. Our study findings highlight how the clinical work setting and the organizational context variables can lead to CWB. Researchers and managers should keep these aspects in high consideration due to their influence on the quality of the care delivered.

Ineffective kintsugi: The detrimental contribution of emotional and cognitive factors on psychological contract breach outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The literature acknowledges that when there is a failure of expectations in the organization-employee relationship, namely the Psychological Contract Breach, it can potentially contribute to deviant behavior such as Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB). A justice perspective helps to disentangle this link by suggesting that unethical behaviors may represent the revenge response to perceived organizational unfairness. OBJECTIVE: To gain a more granular understanding of the pathway from Psychological Contract Breach to CWB, this study explores the mediating role of negative emotions in eliciting CWB. It also proposes that the mechanism of moral disengagement helps to deactivate self-sanctioning processes, allowing individuals to engage in deviant behaviors. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was employed, and conditional process analysis was conducted on a sample of 635 Italian police officer cadets, who were entering the prison system, a context highly susceptible to a failure of expectations and where, at the same time, counteracting unethical behaviors is a key issue. RESULTS: The results supported the tested model, highlighting the mediator role of Job-Related Negative Emotions in the Psychological Contract Breach-CWB relationship and their interaction with Moral Disengagement in shaping CWB. CONCLUSIONS: By examining the interplay between affective and cognitive components, the study provides valuable insights into the underlying processes involved in the relationship between failure in expectancies and deviant behavior. From a managerial perspective, the findings emphasize the importance of prioritizing fairness within organizations through balanced mutual obligations, and raising awareness of moral regulation mechanisms that may shape deviant behaviors.

When team members retaliate: The effect of LMX differentiation on team CWB.

Leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation, or a leader's differentiated treatments among team members, is a prevalent phenomenon in any type of organization due to constraints of personal, social, and organizational resources. Despite numerous empirical examinations of such phenomenon, the impact of LMX differentiation on group outcomes is inconsistent and inconclusive. Based on team diversity framework, we approach LMX differentiation as disparity and draw on social comparison theory and social exchange theory to examine the positive effect of LMX differentiation on team counterproductive work behavior (CWB) through a supervisory justice climate. In addition, we investigate leader competence as an essential boundary condition that influences the impact of LMX differentiation on supervisory justice climate and subsequent team CWB. Using a sample of 94 teams in South Korea, we found that LMX differentiation negatively impacts supervisory justice climate, subsequently promoting team CWB. Furthermore, when team members perceive their leader as incompetent, the positive impact of LMX differentiation on team CWB is strengthened. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Hatred out of love or love can be all-inclusive? Moderating effects of employee status and organizational affective commitment on the relationship between turnover intention and CWB.

Owing to the prevalence of flexible employment practices around the world and increasingly loose employee-organization relationships, employee turnover intention is gradually becoming normalized. This study aimed to examine the counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) of employees with turnover intention in the hybrid employment context. Drawing on the psychological contract process perspective, this research endeavored to examine whether higher turnover intention is associated with greater levels of CWB and to determine whether and how the association between turnover intention and CWB differs across temporary and permanent workers by considering organizational affective commitment. The results of analyzing 211 pairs of two-wave subordinate-supervisor matching data from a Chinese service company indicated that turnover intention is positively related to CWB, and the association is stronger for temporary workers than permanent ones. Such difference is caused by permanent workers' higher organizational affective commitment than temporary workers. The findings' implications for theory and research are provided in hybrid employment.

A moderated-mediation analysis of performance appraisal politics perception and counterproductive work behavior.

Politics has become a common element in the performance appraisal process, and as decision recipients in this process, those appraised tend to be more sensitive to performance appraisal politics. This paper examines the mechanisms by which performance appraisal politics perception (PAPP) affects counterproductive work behavior (CWB) from the perspective of those appraised. The mediating effect of perceived organizational justice (POJ) and the moderating effect of political skill (PS) are incorporated into a parsimonious moderated-mediation model. A quantitative research approach is employed with survey data from 460 employees of large and medium-sized enterprises in Hubei Province (China), and structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrap analysis are used to test the proposed hypothesized relationships. The findings demonstrate that PAPP has a positive impact on CWB, and POJ partly mediates the relationship between PAPP and CWB. The results also reveal that individual PS moderates the positive correlation between PAPP and CWB. The academic and practical implications of these findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research, are also discussed.

The relationship between stressors of temporary work and counterproductive work behaviour.

Recent research on temporary work has suggested that temporary work experiences vary greatly in quality. In light of concerns about diminished quality of some temporary work experiences, we suggest that temporary workers may experience a variety of stressful work situations that could precipitate detrimental outcomes not only for these workers, but also for their co-workers and organizations. Using a multi-wave survey of temporary workers, this study examines the relationship between economic, interpersonal, and organizational stressors and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). Specifically, we hypothesize that economic stressors (operationalized as economic hardship and job insecurity), interpersonal conflict and organizational constraints will predict the extent to which temporary workers perform CWB via emotional exhaustion and moral disengagement pathways. Three waves of data show that temporary workers experiencing higher levels of economic hardship, interpersonal conflict and organizational constraints reported greater emotional exhaustion, which was linked to increased frequency of CWBs. Additionally, higher levels of job insecurity and interpersonal conflict were related to higher levels of moral disengagement, which related to increased frequency of CWBs. These findings highlight relationships of different stressors with emotional and cognitive reactions that may trigger CWB in temporary workers.

Linking Self-Control to Voluntary Behaviors at Workplace: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction.

Voluntary work behavior (VWB) refers to spontaneous workplace behaviors that extend beyond role norms, including extra-role behaviors that benefit the organization (i. e., organizational citizenship behavior, OCB) and negative behaviors that may harm the organization (i.e., counterproductive work behavior, CWB). This study examined the relationship between self-control and VWB and the mediating role of job satisfaction. A total of 1,101 full-time employees from China completed a battery of self-report measures online. The results show that self-control positively predicts employees' OCB and negatively predicts employees' CWB. Moreover, job satisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between self-control and OCB/CWB. The results confirm that employees with high self-control are more public-spirited, which previous studies have described as being "highly committed" (high OCB) or "less harmful" (low CWB). This finding closely relates to the observation that employees with high self-control tend to have more satisfying work outcomes or higher workplace status than those with low self-control.

The Effect of Job Security on Deviant Behaviors in Diverse Employment Workplaces: From the Social Identity Perspective.

Organizational scholars concur that job security can attach employees to a workplace and improve their job quality. The relationship between job security and employees' deviant behaviors in the workplace, such as counterproductive work behavior (CWB), lacks insights into how or why this occurs, especially in a diversified employment context. To address these limitations, we developed a theoretical model of job security impact on employees' CWB from the perspective of social identity. Analysis of employees (N = 208) and their supervisors in a China state-owned company were used to test the hypothesis. Results confirmed the negative relationship between job security and CWB; organizational identification partly mediates the relationship between job security and CWB. Moderated mediation analyses further indicate that the indirect effect of job security on CWB via organizational identification are stronger for temporary employees than for permanent employees. This article contributes to the understanding of job security's impact on employees' deviant behavior, practical implications and research aspects are discussed.

Leader-Member Exchange Fosters Beneficial and Prevents Detrimental Workplace Behavior: Organizational Identification as the Linking Pin.

Discretionary behaviors, such as counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), directly refer to an organization's normative expectations. As such, employees engaging in these behaviors violate or exceed organizational norms, respectively. An employee's relationship quality with his or her supervisor [i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX)] has been found to be a prominent antecedent of employees' workplace behavior. However, the actual mechanisms that link LMX and discretionary behaviors (i.e., CWB and OCB) are not yet well understood. Integrating social exchange as well as the social identity theory, we present an employee's organizational identification (OI) as a mechanism that sheds light on why LMX leads to employees' subsequent discretionary behavior. Across four empirical studies employing complementary study designs, we demonstrate that LMX is positively associated with OI, which, in turn, curbs CWB and fosters OCB. Specifically, this pattern of findings is consistent across (1) a cross-sectional study with 188 Swiss employees, (2) a time-lagged study with 502 Swiss employees, (3) an online recall experiment with 131 US participants, and (4) an online vignette experiment with 139 US participants. In sum, we present an integrative theoretical model and respective empirical support to shed light on OI as a pivotal mechanism that can explain why the relationship quality with one's supervisor can simultaneously serve as a deterrent for CWB and foster OCB.

Investigating Leader Role Congruity and Counterproductive Work Behavior.

The present study sought to examine the role of fulfilled vs. unfulfilled expectations in work-related and non-work domains. Specifically, we examined how congruence and incongruence between implicit leadership theories across multiple categories of leaders (typical, ideal, and effective leaders) and characteristics recognized on one's supervisor affect leader-member exchange (LMX), work-family conflict, and subsequent counter-productive work behavior. We tested our hypotheses using polynomial regression and response surface modeling. The results of this study showed that congruence between implicit leadership theories (ILT's) of typical, ideal, and effective leaders and supervisor recognition, as well as incongruity between ILT's of ideal leaders and characteristics recognized in one's supervisor, significantly impacts perceived LMX quality with supervisors. Incongruity between ILT's of typical and ideal leaders and supervisor recognition was also associated with higher ratings of work-family conflict (WFC). Finally, the results showed support for a significant indirect effect of congruence between ILTs of typical and ideal leaders and characteristics recognized in one's supervisor on CWB through WFC. These results add meaningful depth to literature on congruent implicit theories in two ways: (a) we add to existing knowledge of outcomes associated with congruence on ILT's, and, (b) we examine these associations using ILT's across multiple categories of leaders. Implications are also discussed.

The CWB2 Cell Wall-Anchoring Module Is Revealed by the Crystal Structures of the Clostridium difficile Cell Wall Proteins Cwp8 and Cwp6.

Bacterial cell wall proteins play crucial roles in cell survival, growth, and environmental interactions. In Gram-positive bacteria, cell wall proteins include several types that are non-covalently attached via cell wall binding domains. Of the two conserved surface-layer (S-layer)-anchoring modules composed of three tandem SLH or CWB2 domains, the latter have so far eluded structural insight. The crystal structures of Cwp8 and Cwp6 reveal multi-domain proteins, each containing an embedded CWB2 module. It consists of a triangular trimer of Rossmann-fold CWB2 domains, a feature common to 29 cell wall proteins in Clostridium difficile 630. The structural basis of the intact module fold necessary for its binding to the cell wall is revealed. A comparison with previously reported atomic force microscopy data of S-layers suggests that C. difficile S-layers are complex oligomeric structures, likely composed of several different proteins.

Walking the Tightrope: Counterproductive Work Behavior as Compensation for Citizenship Demands.

Amidst a struggling economy, organizations are ruled by the survival of the fittest paradigm but it is the employees who tend to pay the price, with increased demands which, oftentimes, fall outside their job scope. In the present paper, we examined whether pressuring people to engage in such organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) might in fact backfire and lead to increased Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) because of compensatory mechanisms. We propose a typology of OCB that distinguishes between discretionary and elicited OCB, hypothesizing that elicited but not discretionary OCB, positively relates to CWB. By doing so, we wanted to examine if such a distinction can explain conflicting past results concerning the within-person OCB-CWB link, and to test whether increased citizenship demands can have an adverse effect for the organization. Our hypothesis was tested by asking 29 employees twice a day for 10 consecutive working days to report on the elicited and discretionary OCB and CWB they performed (N = 210 responses). Multilevel logistic regression analyses showed that elicited OCB was positively related to CWB, whereas discretionary OCB was not related to CWB. This finding steers theorizing away from the conventional classification of employees as bad apples versus good soldiers, by revealing that CWB can positively relate to OCB as a result of compensatory mechanisms. From a practical point of view, our results imply that employers should be mindful of the unintended consequences that OCB might entail when employees perceive that they are expected to engage in such behaviors.

Relationships between cold-temperature indices and all causes and cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality in a subtropical island.

This study aimed to identify optimal cold-temperature indices that are associated with the elevated risks of mortality from, and outpatient visits for all causes and cardiopulmonary diseases during the cold seasons (November to April) from 2000 to 2008 in Northern, Central and Southern Taiwan. Eight cold-temperature indices, average, maximum, and minimum temperatures, and the temperature humidity index, wind chill index, apparent temperature, effective temperature (ET), and net effective temperature and their standardized Z scores were applied to distributed lag non-linear models. Index-specific cumulative 26-day (lag 0-25) mortality risk, cumulative 8-day (lag 0-7) outpatient visit risk, and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated at 1 and 2 standardized deviations below the median temperature, comparing with the Z score of the lowest risks for mortality and outpatient visits. The average temperature was adequate to evaluate the mortality risk from all causes and circulatory diseases. Excess all-cause mortality increased for 17-24% when average temperature was at Z=-1, and for 27-41% at Z=-2 among study areas. The cold-temperature indices were inconsistent in estimating risk of outpatient visits. Average temperature and THI were appropriate indices for measuring risk for all-cause outpatient visits. Relative risk of all-cause outpatient visits increased slightly by 2-7% when average temperature was at Z=-1, but no significant risk at Z=-2. Minimum temperature estimated the strongest risk associated with outpatient visits of respiratory diseases. In conclusion, the relationships between cold temperatures and health varied among study areas, types of health event, and the cold-temperature indices applied. Mortality from all causes and circulatory diseases and outpatient visits of respiratory diseases has a strong association with cold temperatures in the subtropical island, Taiwan.