Gender and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): a personality-based explanatory model
There is a gender gap in counterproductive work behavior (CWB), such that men report engaging in more counterproductivity at work than do women (Ng, Feldman, & Lam, 2016). The present study proposes an explanatory model for the CWB gender gap, using personality traits (narcissism, sadism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence) and sex role orientation (agency and communion) to explain the gap. Study 1 uses meta-analytic structural equation modeling to estimate the mediating effects of narcissism, sadism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence in the gender-CWB relationship. Study 2 extends this model using a primary data sample of working adults, and specifies sex role orientation (agency and communion) as mediating mechanisms through which gender relates to the personality traits. Primary data are also used to test hypothesized gender × sex role (congruence) effects (e.g., gender × agency interaction effects on personality traits) and show that agency is a stronger predictor of sadism for men than for women.
counterproductive work behavior, personality, sadism, narcissism, agency, communion, gender, emotional intelligence, sex role orientation
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign