Typical Norms that Govern Workplace Setting
Norms, for the purpose of this discussion, are unwritten rules that exist to guide and promote specific behaviors and actions. Workplace environments comprise of individuals from different and diverse backgrounds. While this diverse nature is critical to development of norms, it might be a source of conflict and job dissatisfaction (Hardies, 2019).
This explains why norms must reinforce the culture of the organization. The first norm in this setting relate to treating each other with dignity – employees are required to treat each other with courtesy and kindness because they are all equal. Secondly, individuals must respect the personal space of others – it implies that no one should invade privacy and disturb others unnecessarily. Thirdly, always strive to listen with the aim understanding. This is aimed at minimizing conflicts as the speaker has enough time to express themselves with clarity. Another norm is that all issues discussed in confidence must remain so. This helps a lot prevent misuse of information through gossips and random conversations. Lastly, when you commit to doing something, do it – it aims at minimizing time wastage and ensure everyone is committed to their work.
Explanation of Actions in Relation to Deviant
Workplace deviant, as evidenced in the class reading, is defined as a type of behavior that violates the established organizational norms about what is wrong and right, thus endangering organization’s and its members well-being. Bachok et al. (2022) defined it as a type of “behavior that is deliberately committed to go against institutional norms and threaten the harmony within an organization” (p. 234).
In performing my act, I decided to gossip about how some employees were being treated better than others for reasons other than their work performance. I also engaged in random conversations during working hours with the aim of intentionally interrupting the working schedule. Since I knew most of the employees in my workplace, it was easier to approach them, specifically while they were working. The intention of my conversations was to interrupt the status quo – I defied the set norm of respecting others’ personal spaces. When making random disruptive conversations with Generation X workers, I ensured I appeal to their emotions which require active listening.
The deviant acts relate to social exchange and social learning theories – they view deviant behavior from a psychological perspective. This perspective “finds that that an individual is unable to restrain or prevent himself from engaging in behaviors that can give him satisfaction” (Bachok et al., p. 230). On one hand, social exchange theory argues that employees tend to be dissatisfied when they receive poor treatment from the organization and, in exchange, may engage in destructive behavior (Bachok et al., 2022). In the case of gossiping, the idea is that some employees are being favored and, by talking to other workers about it, I intend to achieve group solidarity. This, in the end, may affect employee morale since they feel their hard work mean nothing. On the other hand, social learning theory holds that leaders have an impact on workers through the process of role modeling (Bachok et al., 2022).
This means if the leaders engage in unethical behaviors, employees are bound to follow suit. For instance, if a manager likes to engage in random conversation with workers, some of them may find it normal to interrupt others.
Personal Feelings and Observations
I felt bad performing this act – I was trying to do something am not used to doing. While I must admit am a social person, the purpose of engaging in conversations with my workmates has always been to benefit the organization. So, the fact that I engaged in gossip and random conversations did not ogre well with me. I also observed that my acts were leading to erosion of trust and morale. There was a lot of time wasting since some employees, especially generation Z, were willing to listen and even engage in the conversations.
Description of the Reactions of Others
In performing acts, I considered several elements such as time, gender, and age. Firstly, regarding age, I grouped the workmates into millennials, generation Z and generation Y. From my observations, the millennials and generation X appeared disinterested in the random conversations. Some of the responses I received include “we are busy here working and please take your issues up with HR”. However, most of the generation Z, who happened to know more about technology and social media seemed interested – they even contributed to the discussions. Secondly, on gender, I targeted mainly women and men in the generation X. Surprisingly, most women shared my sentiments but were unwilling to go against the set norms.
Others, though interested in knowing the specific employees being favored, were unwilling to converse during working hours. Most men in the generation X category were less interested and termed my gossips as “cheap and meaningless accusations”. Lastly, on the issue of time, I initiated my gossips during morning hours. While most of the employees were committed to their work, a few of them, particularly generation Z did not mind sparing a minute for gossip.
Lessons Learned from Undertaking a Systematic Observation
The first lesson I learn from this experiment is that compared to generation X, most of the generation Y workers could easily engage in deviant behavior. This is the case because members of this group are constantly evolving and desire for a job that align to their specific needs. Another lesson I learned from performing the deviant act is that job stressors and organizational frustration are critical factors to this behavior.
References
Bachok, A. B., D’Silva, J. L., & Ismail, I. A. (2022). Workplace deviant behavior: A theoretical highlights. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(7), 230 – 363. Web.
Hardies, K. (2019). Personality, social norms, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Personality and Individual Differences, 15(1), 109-496. Web.