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Description
Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have become a topic of considerable interest within organizational psychology research due to their staggering cost and damaging effects on both organizations and their employees. These negative behaviors include lying on timesheets, stealing office supplies, bullying, and harassment. Research has demonstrated that sleep may play a role in the occurrence of CWBs in the workplace, but little work has explored how these relationships may change in an online work environment through the use of technology mediated communication (TMC). Based on self-regulation theory, it was expected that poorer sleep would predict more CWBs because diminished sleep quality and quantity make it more difficult to inhibit unwanted behaviors. It was also expected that more TMC use would predict higher CWBs because there is less opportunity for social influence and supervision in virtual environments. Additionally, TMC was expected to strengthen the sleep and CWB relationship based on self-regulation and social learning theories. An archival dataset from a larger research study examining sleep and organizational behaviors was used to assess the hypotheses. Self-report measures of sleep, CWB, and TMC data were collected from 578 employed participants through a cross-sectional survey. Bivariate correlation analyses suggest poor sleep quality (but not quantity) was associated with higher engagement in CWBs. TMC use was unrelated to CWBs, and moderated multiple regressions indicated that it also did not alter sleep and CWB relationships. This study adds to the existing literature by suggesting interactions with coworkers online may not necessarily be related to the occurrence of negative behaviors at work, nor change the effects of sleep on those behaviors. Keywords: employee sleep, sleep quality, sleep quantity, counterproductive work behaviors, technology-mediated communication, face-to-face interactions
