Cynicism in the workplace: some causes and effects

✍ Scribed by Lynne M. Andersson; Thomas S. Bateman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 221 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-3796
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199709)18:5<449::aid-job808>3.0.co;2-o

✦ Synopsis

A scenario-based experiment was employed to test seven hypotheses concerning several causes and consequences of cynicism in the workplace. The results of a 26262 MANOVA revealed that high levels of executive compensation, poor organizational performance, and harsh, immediate layos generate cynicism in white-collar workers. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that cynicism relates negatively to intentions to perform organizational citizenship behaviors and intentions to comply with requests to engage in unethical behaviors. The study provides a ®rst experimental investigation of an important employee attitude and indicates directions for further research.