Workload, work pressure, neutralisation, and interpersonal deviance in public universities in Nigeria
List of Authors
  • Adeoti, Michael Olalekan , Faridahwati Mohd Shamsudin , Mohammad Mousa AlHamwan

Keyword
  • Interpersonal deviance, neutralisation, workplace deviance, workload, work pressure

Abstract
  • Extant empirical research on deviant workplace behaviour (DWB) has given less focus on interpersonal deviance. Drawing from the theory of neutralisation and job demand-control model, the present study examined the mediating role of neutralisation in the relationship between workload, work pressure, and interpersonal deviance. Cluster sampling was adopted, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data from 356 faculty members in public universities in Nigeria. Using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the result revealed that workload and work pressure were significantly related to interpersonal deviance. As expected, neutralisation significantly mediated the positive relationship between workload and interpersonal deviance and between work pressure and interpersonal deviance. The result suggests that faculty members rationalised their interpersonal deviance as a result of workload and work pressure. From the result, the management of Nigerian public universities can minimise the incidence of interpersonal deviance by taking a holistic review of the existing workloads of faculty members and minimise internal conditions that may warrant neutralisation. The outcome of this study provides significant theoretical and practical contributions to organisational behaviour literature.

Reference
  • 1. Adekoya, A. (2017, September 7). LASU sacks ASUU chairman, deputy, 15 others. Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/lasu-sacks-asuu-chairman-deputy-15-others/
    2. Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, 452-472.
    3. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (13th ed.). London: Koganpage.
    4. Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74-94.
    5. Baillien, E., De Cuyper, N., & De Witte, H. (2011). Job autonomy and workload as antecedents of workplace bullying: A two‐wave test of Karasek's job demand control model for targets and perpetrators. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 84(1), 191-208.
    6. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2016). Job demands-resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. In P. Y. Chen & C. L. Cooper (Eds.). Work and wellbeing: A complete reference guide (Volume III, pp. 201-216). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
    7. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-118383.
    8. Bennett, R. J., & Robinson, S. L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 349-360.
    9. Biron, M. (2010). Negative reciprocity and the association between perceived organisational ethical values and organisational deviance. Human Relations, 63(6), 875-897.
    10. Brenninkmeijer, V., Demerouti, E., Blanc, P. M. L., & van Emmerik, I. J. H. (2010). Regulatory focus at work: The moderating role of regulatory focus in the job demands-resources model. Career Development International, 15(7), 708-728.
    11. Cheng, L., Li, W., Zhai, Q., & Smyth, R. (2014). Understanding personal use of the Internet at work: An integrated model of neutralisation techniques and general deterrence theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 38, 220-228.
    12. Chin, W. W. (1998). Issues and opinion on structural equation modeling. MIS Quarterly, 22, 1, 7-16.
    13. Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 309-319.
    14. Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2009). Patterns and profiles of response to incivility in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(3), 272-288.
    15. Cromwell, P. F., & Thurman, Q. C. (2003). The devil made me do it: Use of neutralisations by shoplifters. Deviant Behavior, 24(6), 535-550.
    16. De Braine, R., & Roodt, G. (2011). The job demands-resources model as predictor of work-based identity and work engagement: A comparative analysis. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 1-11.
    17. Dike, G. (2017, September 12). DELSU sacks 14 lecturers, 17 non-academic staffers. The Sun Newspaper. Retrieved from http://sunnewsonline.com/delsu-sacks-14-lecturers-17-non-academic-staffers/
    18. Fagbohungbe, B. O., Akinbode, G. A., & Ayodeji, F. (2012). Organisational determinants of workplace deviant behaviours: An empirical analysis in Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(5), 207-221.
    19. Fida, R., Paciello, M., Tramontano, C., Fontaine, R. G., Barbaranelli, C., & Farnese, M. L. (2015). An integrative approach to understanding counterproductive work behavior: The roles of stressors, negative emotions, and moral disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(1), 131-144.
    20. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39-50.
    21. Fox, S., Spector, P.E. & Miles, D. (2001). Counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) in response to job stressors and organisational justice: some mediator and moderator tests for autonomy and emotions. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 59, 291-309.
    22. Gay, L. R., & Diehl, P. L. (1992). Research methods for business and management. Pennsylvania: Macmillan.
    23. Geidam, A. D., Njoku, A. E., & Bako, B. (2011). Prevalence and nature of sexual assault among female students in a tertiary institution in Maiduguri, Nigeria: A cross sectional study. International Journal of Health Research, 3(4), 199-203.
    24. Geisser, S. (1974). A predictive approach to the random effect model. Biometrika, 61, 101-107.
    25. Gilin Oore, D. E. B. R. A., Leblanc, D., Day, A., Leiter, M. P., Spence Laschinger, H. K., Price, S. L., & Latimer, M. (2010). When respect deteriorates: incivility as a moderator of the stressor–strain relationship among hospital workers. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(8), 878-888.
    26. Gruber, V., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2014). How techniques of neutralisation legitimize norm-and attitude-inconsistent consumer behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(1), 29-45.
    27. Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 18, 139-152.
    28. Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Mena, J. A. (2012). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40, 414-433.
    29. Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review, 26, 106-121.
    30. Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York City: Guilford Press.
    31. Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P.A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2-20. doi: 10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0382.
    32. Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115-135.
    33. Hinduja, S. (2007). Neutralisation theory and online software piracy: An empirical analysis. Ethics and Information Technology, 9(3), 187-204.
    34. Hoel, H., Cooper, C. L., & Hoel, H., Cooper, C. L., & Faragher, B. (2001). The experience of bullying in Great Britain: The impact of organisational status. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 10(4), 443-465.
    35. Houston, D., Meyer, L. H., & Paewai, S. (2006). Academic staff workloads and job satisfaction: Expectations and values in academe. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 28(1), 17-30.
    36. Jovanović, J., Lazaridis, K., & Stefanović, V. (2006). Theoretical approaches to problem of occupational stress. Acta Facultatis Medicae Naissensis, 23(3), 163-169.
    37. Karasek Jr, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1, 285-308.
    38. Karasek, R. A., & Theorell, T. (1990). Health work. New York: Basic Book.
    39. Kura, K. M., Shamsudin, F. M., & Chauhan, A. (2015). Does self-regulatory efficacy matter? Effects of punishment certainty and punishment severity on organisational deviance. Sage Open, 5(2), 1-14.
    40. Lawrence, T. B., & Robinson, S. L. (2007). Ain't misbehavin: Workplace deviance as organisational resistance. Journal of Management, 33(3), 378-394.
    41. Lian, H., Ferris, D. L., & Brown, D. J. (2012). Does taking the good with the bad make things worse? How abusive supervision and leader–member exchange interact to impact need satisfaction and organisational deviance. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117(1), 41-52.
    42. Lim, S., Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2008). Personal and workgroup incivility: Impact on work and health outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 95-107.
    43. Lim, V. K. (2002). The IT way of loafing on the job: Cyberloafing, neutralising and organisational justice. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 23(5), 675-694.
    44. Nasurdin, A. M., & O'Driscoll, M. P. (2012). Work overload, parental demand, perceived organisational support, family support, and work-family conflict among New Zealand and Malaysian academics. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 41(1), 38-48.
    45. NEEDS Report. (2012). Report of Committee on needs assessment of Nigerian public universities. Abuja: National Universities Commission.
    46. O’Brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41(5), 673-690.
    47. Ogunbodede, E. (2018, April, 19). Sex-for-marks scandal: OAU suspends lecturer indefinitely. Retrieved from: https://www.channelstv.com/2018/04/19/sex-for-marks-scandal-oau-suspends-lecturer-indefinitely/
    48. Omar, F., Halim, F. W., Ahmad Zamani, Z., Farhadi, H., Nasir, R., & Khairudin, R. (2011). Stress and job satisfaction as antecedents of workplace deviant behavior. World Applied Sciences Journal, 12, 45-51.
    49. Omonijo, D. O., Uche, O. C. O., Nwadiafor, K. L., & Rotimi, O. (2013). A study of sexual harassment in three selected private faith-based universities, Ogun state, Nigeria. Open Journal of Social Science Research, 1(9), 250-263.
    50. Pearson, C. M., & Porath, C. L. (2004). On incivility, its impact and directions for future research. In R. W. Griffin & A. M. O’Leary-Kelly (Eds.), The dark side of organisational behaviour (pp. 403-425). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
    51. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539-569.
    52. Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). The content validity index: Are you sure you know what's being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing & Health, 29(5), 489-497.
    53. Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, 36(4), 717-731.
    54. Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879-891.
    55. Ringle, C. M., Wende, S., & Becker, J. M. (2015). SmartPLS 3. Boenningstedt: SmartPLS GmbH. Available at http://www.smartpls.com.
    56. Robinson, S. L. (2008). Dysfunctional workplace behaviour. In J. Barling & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The Sage handbook of organisational behaviour (pp. 141-159). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
    57. Robinson, S. L., & Bennett, R. J. (1995). A typology of deviant workplace behaviors: A multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 555-572.
    58. Rogers, J. W., & Buffalo, M. D. (1974). Neutralisation techniques: Toward a simplified measurement scale. Pacific Sociological Review, 313-331.
    59. Shigihara, A. M. (2013). It's only stealing a little a lot: Techniques of neutralisation for theft among restaurant workers. Deviant Behavior, 34(6), 494-512.
    60. Spector, P. E., & Jex, S. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal conflict at work scale, organisational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3(4), 356-367.
    61. Stone, M. (1974). Cross-validatory choice and assessment of statistical predictions. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), 36, 111-147.
    62. Stouten, J., Baillien, E., Van den Broeck, A., Camps, J., De Witte, H., & Euwema, M. (2010). Discouraging bullying: The role of ethical leadership and its effects on the work environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 95, 17-27.
    63. Sulaiman, M., & Bhatti, O. K. (2013). Workplace deviance and spirituality in Muslim organisations. Asian Social Science, 9(10), 237-250.
    64. Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralisation: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22(6), 664-670.
    65. Takaki, J., Taniguchi, T., Fukuoka, E., Fujii, Y., Tsutsumi, A., Nakajima, K. & Hirokawa, K. (2010). Workplace bullying could play important roles in the relationships between job strain and symptoms of depression and sleep disturbance. Journal of Occupational Health, 52(6), 367-374.
    66. Taylor, S. G., Bedeian, A. G., & Kluemper, D. H. (2012). Linking workplace incivility to citizenship performance: The combined effects of affective commitment and conscientiousness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(7), 878-893.
    67. Theorell, T., & Karasek, R. A. (1996). Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1(1), 9-22.
    68. Tuckey, M. R., Chrisopoulos, S., & Dollard, M. F. (2012). Job demands, resource deficiencies, and workplace harassment: Evidence for micro-level effects. International Journal of Stress Management, 19(4), 292-310.
    69. van Gils, S., Van Quaquebeke, N., van Knippenberg, D., van Dijke, M., & De Cremer, D. (2015). Ethical leadership and follower organizational deviance: The moderating role of follower moral attentiveness. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), 190-203.
    70. Yeh, H. J. (2015). Job demands, job resources, and job satisfaction in East Asia. Social Indicators Research, 121(1), 47-60.
    71. Yu, S. (2013). Digital piracy justification: Asian students versus American students. International Criminal Justice Review, 23(2), 185-196.