© 2019 IJRAR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.

org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Employee Misbehaviour in the workplace-

Strategies to prevent misbehaviour and make
employees satisfied with the job
1
Ranjit Thomas,2Dr. Anitha S, 3Dr. I Nelson Joseph
1
Part-time Research Scholar, Loyola College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum and Assistant Professor, Department of
Management Studies, Lourdes Matha College of Science and Technology, Trivandrum,
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Personnel Management, Loyola College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum
3
Retired Professor and Head, Department of Business Administration, CET School of Management, Trivandrum

Abstract
The purpose of this article is to understand about Employee Misbehaviour in the workplace and the
strategies to prevent it and make employees satisfied with the job. The term misbehavior denotes all
behaviour that departs from the accomplishment of goals of the organization.Employee Misbehaviour
takes several forms such as Sexual Harassment, Bullying, Incivility,Substance abuse, Fraud,
Cyberslacking, and Sabotage. It is mandatory for leaders and managers of organisations to monitor
the behaviour of employees and ensure that cordial relations are maintained. Dissatisfied employees
indulge in misbehavior due to a variety of reasons. Hence authorities of organisations are also
required to identify the factors causing dissatisfaction to the employees and effect suitable changes so
that employees remain satisfied with their job.
Keywords– Employee Misbehaviour, Forms of Employee Misbehaviour, Prevention of Misbehaviour,
Role of authorities
Introduction
It is a generally accepted belief that authorities of institutions expect employees to perform a wide range
of tasks at work. Employees may carry out duties that are inconsistent with the requirements of the
organization or indulge in activities which they are not supposed to do in the workplace. In such a type of
situation, they tend to misbehave. Misbehaviour can also occur when employees are not satisfied and
interested in their jobs resulting in poor performance and morale. Misbehaving employees can also cause
psychological damage to those who are performing well in the organization. Most of the organisations
provide counselling to the employees with the help of an expert which will help them to rectify the
behavioural and work related problems.

Statement of the problem

The present paper tries to address Employee Misbehaviour in the workplace and the various strategies
taken by organisations in order to resolve it. It is very important for the management of organisations to
ensure that employees remain satisfied with their jobs.

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Objectives of the Study

1. To understand the concept of Employee Misbehaviour.

2. To examine the various forms of Employee Misbehaviour.
3. To identify the causes of Employee Misbehaviour
4. To identify the various strategies taken by authorities of organisations to preventthe misbehavior
of employees.

Research Methodology

The study is descriptive in nature. Data is collected from secondary sources such as research articles,
books, magazines, newspapers, etc.

Review of Literature

There are various concepts used by researchers to define Employee Misbehaviour such as Organistional
Misbehaviour, Dysfunctional Behaviour, Anti-Social Behaviour, Organisational Aggression, Employee
Deviance

Vardi and Weiner (1996), defined Organisational Misbehaviour is any intentional action by members of
the organisations that violates core organisational and / or societal norms”.

According to Griffin, O’Leary-Kelly, & Collins (1998), “Dysfunctional behaviour is any motivated
behavior by an employee that has negative consequences for an individual within the organization, a
group of individuals within the organization, and / or the organization itself”.

According to Giacolone and Greenberg (1997), “Antisocial behavior is any behavior that brings harm, or
is intended to bring harm to the organization, its employees, or its stakeholders”.

According to Spector (1978), “Organisational Aggression is any behaviour intended to hurt the
organization.”

Hollinger and Clark (1992) defined Employee deviance as the “unauthorized acts by employees which are
intended to be detrimental to the formal organization”.

Forms of Employee Misbehaviour

(i) Sexual Harassment

This form of misbehavior arises in the workplace due to power differences, lust, and other factors.
Sexual Harassment comprises of 3 aspects such as Gender Harassment, Unwanted sexual advances,
and sexual coercion. 70% of female employees have reported that have been victims of sexual
harassment and the immediate measure is to file a case in the court. This type of misconduct creates a

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very hostile and an offensive environment for the individual and may affect the performance in the
job. Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace 2013 Act deals with the prohibition, prevention,
and redressal of sexual harassment.
(ii) Bullying
Zapf and Einarsen (2005) refers to behaviour that is directed towards a subordinate by a manager.
This type of misbehaviour deals with repeated actions by the culprit purposefully or unconsciously
causing humiliation and pain to the recipient. A manager can take steps to take disciplinary action or
give punishment to the bully, if there is no improvement. There is a chance that employees who are
victims of bullying may leave the organization due to fear, illness, uncertainity regarding
opportunities for development etc. In one study conducted in 1997, the researchers found that 70% of
the witnesses to bullying felt stressed and 22 percent of witnesses left their jobs altogether (Rayner et
al., 2002).
(iii)Incivility

Incivility is a lack of respect for others. In this context, a person acts in a very rude manner towards
others. For the betterment of the organization, it is very important that the employees conduct
themselves in a civil way. Organisational Citizenship behaviour is form of behaviour by being civil
or polite towards others. Incivility can take several forms such as giving remarks by letting others
down, insulting others, not answering questions, refusing to tell thank you or use please etc. Many
organisations conduct soft skills programmes for the employees so as to equip with the necessary
skills needed to converse with employees inside and outside the organization.

(iv) Substance abuse in the workplace

Research in the US has found out that 19 million people were seriously affected by alcoholand
illegitimate drug use at work has affected 4 million individuals. These substances are considered
addictive and non-users will be in great danger. The important aspect that is to be noted is how
organisations can rectify this problem. The authorities of organisations should ensure that there is a
proper work culture so that employees do not fall victims to drugs.
(v) Fraud
Fraud is defined as the intentional act of deceiving or misrepresenting in order to induce another
individual or group to give up something of value. A study revealed that out of 12000 employees, 90
percent of the employees were associated with misbehaviours such as goldbricking (avoiding one’s
duty or work), and sick time abuse (violating the organisation’s attendance policy). 33 percent of the
employees indulged in stealing money and merchandise in the job. Nowadays, confidential
information is also stolen in the workplace by employees.

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(vi) Cyberslacking

Cyberslacking can be defined as the usage of internet for personal purposes in the organization.
During working hours, employees use personal mails, online shopping, listening to music, for a
long time instead of focusing on the work. In most of the reputed IT companies, personal emails,
social networking websites, are disabled so as to ensure that employees spend most of the time in
official work. Many companies in the United States have started electronic monitoring of jobs. The
Information security in charge of the company shall be able to detect the online computer related
activites of the employees of the company.

(vii) Sabotage

Sabotage deals with damaging or destroying the equipments of the organization, data, etc.There are
3 forms of sabotage such as people, equipment, and operations. Those who indulge in people
sabotage are destroying the career of people.

Causes of Employee Misbehaviour

Misbehaviour is an outcome of dissatisfaction in the job. Dissatisfaction in the workplace can arise
due to a variety of factors such as
a) Monotonous Job
b) Improper fit to the organization
c) Uncertainty about one’s role
d) Low Payment
e) Overload of Work
f) Unfavourable working atmosphere
g) Strict working conditions
h) Lack of respect of colleagues, superiors
i) Lack of recognition for the work done
j) Lack of tolerance towards employee’s mistakes by superiors
Strategies to prevent Workplace Misbehaviour
It is very important for authorities in organisations to see that no person indulge in Misbehaviour and
there is a healthy working climate in the organisations. The following strategies have to be taken in
order to prevent Misbehaviour:

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(i) Top Managers and Leaders should lead by Example

It is very important that the top managers and leaders should lead from the front. They should guide
the employees and tell what is expected of them. The employees should be briefed about importance
of good behaviour. Leaders can take active interest in inculcating necessary values to the
employees.
For example- The leaders of Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, are leading from the front and the
same is reflected in the performance of the company.

(ii) Creation of an Ethical Climate

Employees should get a feeling that organisations are giving a lot of importance to proper conduct of
the employee. Creating an ethical climate shall essentially help to reduce workplace behaviours.
(iii) Develop a company wide policy
There should be a policy taken by the company emphasizing zero tolerance towards workplace
misbehaviours. All the employees should ensure that there is harmony maintained in the workplace.
(iv) Train Managers and employees
Managers and employees should be given training on identifying and reporting appropriate
workplace behaviours. If an employee is found to misbehave, the manager can talk to the person
privately and warn about the consequences to be faced by the victim in case of an ignorance.
(v) Develop a Crisis Plan
The organization should have a crisis plan in order to respond to misbehaviours. The top
management should take necessary steps in developing a crisis plan so that each and every
employee will come to know what is to be done when a major problem happens in the organisation.
(vi) Be nice to employees
It is very important for managers and leaders to be nice to their employees. Manager should take
adequate care in addressing the needs of the employees and also encourage employees to let them
know about the difficulties that they face in the organization.
(vii) Provide Industrial Counselling
Industrial Counselling is a psychological health care intervention in the workplace which helps the
employee to meet a professional counsellor to discuss about the difficulties in work. The employee
is also given a supportive and a confidential atmosphere to discuss about the problems with the
counsellor. The counsellor will help the employee to deal with the work related and behavioural
problems.

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Steps to ensure Job Satisfaction

The following aspects can be taken by authorities of institutions to ensure that employees are
satisfied with their job.
(i) Provide a challenging job environment for employees. Create a conducive climate for learning.
(ii) Ensure that the employee is not overloaded with work. Work overload will create stress and
confusion to the employee.
(iii) Supervisors of departments have to ensure that their team members are given proper
recognition. This will enable the employee to continue the good work on a regular basis.
(iv) Ensure that proper remuneration is given to employees.
(v) Provide facilities in departments so that employees can make the best use of it and do the job
with the utmost sincerity.
Conclusion
Employee Misbehaviour is a serious problem which can affect the overall development of the
organization. It is the duty of the management to understand that employees are the biggest assets of
the insititution and are in good harmony so as to help the institution to prosper.

References

Articles

1. Bulutlar, F., & Öz, E. Ü. (2009). The effects of ethical climates on bullying behaviour in the
workplace. Journal of Business ethics, 86(3), 273-295.
2. Lucaks, E., Negoescu, G., & David, S. (2009). „Employees Misbehaviour: Forms, Causes and What
Management Should do to Handle it. The Annals of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati Fascicle
I–Economics and Applied Informatics, 15(2), 315-322.
3. Southey, K. (2010). A typology of employee explanations of misbehaviour: An analysis of unfair
dismissal cases. Journal of Industrial Relations, 52(1), 81-102.
4. Vardi, Y., & Wiener, Y. (1996). Misbehavior in organizations: A motivational framework.
Organization science, 7(2), 151-165.

Books

5. Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2011). Organizational behavior and
management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
6. Kidwell, R. E., & Martin, C. L. (2005). Managing organizational deviance. Thousand Oaks: SAGE
Publications.
URL

https://content.wisestep.com/deal-unacceptable-employee-behavior

http://www.pgagroup.com/employee-counselling.html

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