Every cloud has a silver lining: positive effects of deviant coworkers

No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Markova, Gergana
Folger, Robert
Advisors
Issue Date
2012
Type
Article
Keywords
Deviant coworker , Reactions to deviance , Social comparison , Social construction , Vicarious learning
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Markova, Gergana, Folger, Robert. 2012. Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: Positive Effects of Deviant Coworkers. Journal of Social Psychology, v.152 no.5 pp.586-612
Abstract

Drawing on the labeling perspective of deviance, we investigate employee reactions to coworkers perceived as deviants. We look at two positive effects for employees in the presence of a deviant coworker. First, in comparison to a deviant individual, other employees can draw more positive conclusions about themselves; and second, a deviant can be informative about organizational norms, thereby improving employee role clarity. We also examine individual and situational moderators. For the purpose of the study, we developed a measure of the presence of a deviant. The hypothesized relationships were tested in two large samples using multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that in the presence of a deviant coworker, employees reported enhanced self-evaluation. The presence of a deviant coworker was associated with better role clarity only for employees with more interdependent jobs. We also discuss practical implications of the findings and future research directions.

Table of Contents
Description
Click on the DOI link below to access the article (may not be free).
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Social Psychology;v.152 no.5
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
0022-4545
EISSN