Submitted by existential1 in Worker (edited )

Abstract

Despite its prevalence, high cost, and practical import, employee time theft has received scant research attention. To facilitate future scholarship on this important topic, the present research endeavors to clarify the conceptualization of time theft and advance understanding regarding the range of its behavioral manifestations, develop and validate an instrument to assess time theft, and provide preliminary insights into its nomological net. Results, gathered across nine samples of employees who are paid on an hourly wage scale, suggest that time theft is a multidimensional formative construct, is distinct from other deviant work behaviors (e.g., withdrawal, property theft), and is influenced by instrumental (e.g., pay satisfaction) and expressive motives (e.g., boredom). Finally, time theft explained incremental variance in criterion variables (e.g., receipt or enactment of interpersonal help) controlling for the effects of other discrete manifestations of deviance (e.g., withdrawal). Implications for future scholarship and managerial practice are discussed.

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roanoke9 wrote

Exploitation has yet to reach 100% and this is very important, because people cannot just go around only incompletely exploited. Working Title: Quantum Bootlicking Theory

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existential1 OP wrote

They really out here tryin to quantify this shit.

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existential1 OP wrote (edited )

Found a similar article by the same set of authors that is available:

Abstract

Employee time theft is a costly and prevalent unethical work behavior. Yet, this construct has received less attention compared to other unethical behaviors, and as such, the literature has only a rudimentary understanding of why employees engage in time theft. Thus, the primary goal of this research is to provide greater insight into both why employees engage in time theft and who is most likely to engage in time theft. To do so, we draw from social information processing theory to examine the efect of laissez-faire leadership on employee time theft. More specifcally, we propose that laissez-faire leadership is related to employee time theft through workplace time theft norms. We further propose that this indirect efect is contingent on employee conscientiousness, such that the indirect efect of laissez-faire leadership on employee time theft is stronger for individuals lower in conscientiousness. We conducted two three-wave feld studies to test our predictions. The results of Study 1 supported our prediction that workplace time theft norms mediate the efect of laissez-faire leadership on employee time theft. Study 2 replicated and extended this fnding by ofering evidence for the conditional indirect efect of employee conscientiousness. Implications for future research and managerial practice are discussed.

Conclusion

Though time theft is a widespread and costly phenomenon, little empirical research has been directed at understanding why employees engage in time theft. This study suggests that laissez-faire leadership may represent an important antecedent afecting employee engagement in time theft via workplace time theft norms. Moreover, we found that employees who are lower in conscientiousness were more likely to engage in time theft in response to laissez-faire leadership. Though our fndings provide preliminary insights into why employees engage in time theft and who is most likely to engage in time theft, additional investigation will help build a more robust literature and provide guidance on how to best prevent employee time theft.

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