Workplace Deviance in the IT Industry: A Social Exchange Perspective on Organisational Practices and Personality

Abstract

Workplace deviance has been a further critical concern among the IT industry due to pressure of work, intense competition and dynamism of organisational environment. According to the Social Exchange Theory, the study aims to determine connection between organisational behaviours and individual personality in respect to deviant workplace behaviours of IT professionals. The paper focuses on the role of perceived organisational support, perceived fairness, leadership practices and psychological contract fulfillment on the reciprocal employee attitudes and behaviour. Other personality dimensions such as conscientiousness, emotional balance, agreeabilities are also looked into so as to create an insight of their moderating impact on deviant behaviours. The paper has adopted quantitative approach by relying on empirical data collected on the IT staff to establish the relationships between organisational practices, personality traits and workplace deviance. These findings prove that positive social exchange relations reduce deviant behaviours, and negative organisational practices maximise the potential on the negative reciprocity. Through ranking the importance of ethics in management practices and their work place settings and a personality based approach in HR, the research offers plausible implications of IT organisations in alleviating the risks of sightseeing deviance at the work place and enhancing the organisational effectiveness.