Doing Bad to Feel Good: Working Objectification Promotes Production Deviance Via Thwarted Perceived Control

Abstract

What if employees engage in production deviance (e.g., take excessive breaks, intentionally work more slowly) not because they are lazy, but because they are trying to recover from working objectification? Through four studies (N = 1075), we test whether working objectification promotes production deviance via thwarted perceived control. The results showed that employees who experienced more working objectification reported lower levels of control and thus engaged in production deviance more frequently (Studies 1 to 4) and planned to spend more time on production deviance (Studies 3 and 4). Furthermore, restoring objectified employees’ perceived control can reduce the occurrence of production deviance (Study 4). Together, these studies provide insight into how working objectification promotes production deviance and how to mitigate this effect.