EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON PRODUCTION DEVIANCE ________________________________________ Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Psychology University of Houston ________________________________________ In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ________________________________________ By Dustin Maneethai August, 2019 EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON PRODUCTION DEVIANCE ______________________________ Dustin Maneethai APPROVED: ______________________________ Lawrence A. Witt, Ph.D. ______________________________ James E. Campion, Ph.D. ______________________________ Lars Johnson, Ph.D. ____________________________ Antonio D. Tillis, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department of Hispanic Studies ii EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON PRODUCTION DEVIANCE ________________________________________ An Abstract of a Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Psychology University of Houston ________________________________________ In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ________________________________________ By Dustin Maneethai August, 2019 iii EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB ABSTRACT 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. iv EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB TABLE OF CONTENTS Effects of a Hostile Work Environment on Production Deviance .............................................1 Theoretical Background and Conceptual Model .......................................................................2 Counterproductive Work Behaviors ......................................................................................3 Hostile Work Environments ...................................................................................................3 Direct Effect of Hostile Work Environments on Production Deviance .................................5 Indirect Effect of Hostile Work Environments on Production Deviance ...............................8 Conscientiousness ................................................................................................................11 Method .....................................................................................................................................15 Participants and procedures ..................................................................................................15 Measures...............................................................................................................................15 Results ......................................................................................................................................18 Preliminary Analyses ........................................................................................................18 Tests of Mediation and Moderated Mediation .................................................................18 Discussion ................................................................................................................................20 Theoretical Implications .......................................................................................................21 Practical Implications ...........................................................................................................23 Limitations and Future Directions........................................................................................25 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................26 References ................................................................................................................................28 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................41 v EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB Effects of a Hostile Work Environment on Production Deviance Counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) are harmful volitional behaviors enacted by employees towards the organization or other organizational members (Spector & Fox, 2005). They take the form of physical or psychological abuse, sabotage, theft, withdrawal, and production deviance (Spector et al., 2006). Scholars have sought to understand the mechanisms and processes that lead to CWB (Dunlop & Lee, 2004; Hershcovis & Barling, 2010). The stressor-emotion model of CWB proposed by Spector and Fox (2005) provides a framework for understanding the psychological process. According to their model, employees embedded within stressful work environments experience negative emotions, such as frustration, anger, and emotional exhaustion, which spur retaliatory behaviors towards the organization or organizational members in the form of CWB (Krischer, Penney, & Hunter, 2010; Penney & Spector, 2005). A growing body of literature supports the emotion-centered model (Aryee, Sun, Chen, & Debrah, 2008; Bruk-Lee & Spector, 2006; Fox, Spector, & Miles, 2001; Spector & Fox, 2002; Sprung & Jex, 2012). Environmental stressors are important antecedents of CWB (Judge, Scott, & Ilies, 2006; Sackett, 2002; Spector & Fox, 2005). However, there is limited research on the differential effects of various organizational environments that may induce stress. In the present study, I draw from the emotion-centered model of CWB to argue that hostile work environments act as stressors in which employees perceive a climate of discrimination and harassment (Dansby & Landis, 1991). Under such environmental stressors, employees experience emotional exhaustion and may engage in subsequent retaliatory deviant behaviors in the form of CWB. Spector and Fox (2005) also noted that personality traits have an important influence on CWB. Conscientiousness, emotional stability, and agreeableness predict CWB (Berry, Ones, & 1 EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB Sackett, 2007; Fox et al., 2001). Personality traits function as moderators between direct paths of the stressor-emotion model. For example, Penney and Spector (2005) found that negative affectivity moderated the relationship between job stress and CWB, such that individuals higher (lower) in negative affectivity engaged in more (fewer) CWB. However, personality traits influence not only how an individual behaves within an environment, but also how an individual processes and reacts emotionally to a situation (Costa, McCrae, & Kay, 1995; Tett & Guterman, 2000). Following Tett and Guterman's (2000) trait activation theory, I proposed to examine the conditional person-situation interaction within the stressor-emotion model of CWB (see also Tett & Burnett, 2003). Specifically, I proposed to explore the extent to which trait conscientiousness attenuates the direct and indirect relationship between perceptions of a hostile work environment and production deviance through emotional exhaustion. I aim to make several contributions to the literature. First, I seek to extend the current literature surrounding the relationship between workplace stressors and CWB to include hostile work environments. Second, I aim to answer the call of Spector (2011) for greater understanding of personality within the CWB literature beyond bivariate relationships. Theoretical Background and Conceptual Model Figure 1 presents the conceptual model. In line with the stressor-emotion model of CWB (Spector & Fox, 2002, 2005), I described a process in which an environmental stressor (perceived hostile work environment) invokes a negative emotional reaction (emotional exhaustion), leading to CWB (production deviance). I also proposed that conscientiousness influences the relationship between hostile work environment and production deviance through emotional exhaustion at both the direct and indirect paths. 2 EFFECTS OF A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ON CWB Counterproductive Work Behaviors CWB encompass a broad range of behaviors, such as theft, absenteeism, intentionally working slowly, and verbally arguing with co-workers (Dalal, 2005; Robinson & Bennett, 1995; Sackett, 2002). All CWB are considered deliberate and harmful behaviors.