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- Title
Every cloud has a silver lining: positive effects of deviant coworkers.
- Authors
Markova, Gergana; Folger, Robert
- 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.
- Publication
The Journal of social psychology, 2012, Vol 152, Issue 5, p586
- ISSN
0022-4545
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1080/00224545.2012.671201