The role of dispositional aggressiveness and organizational injustice on deviant workplace behavior

A field study of 262 hospital employees examined the relationship between dispositional aggressiveness, three types of organizational injustice perceptions, (distributive, procedural, interactional), and two forms of workplace deviance (interpersonal, organizational). Dispositional aggressiveness was assessed with the conditional reasoning measurement system and organizational injustices were measured via self-report instruments. Deviant workplace behaviors were evaluated with 985 ratings provided by supervisors, coworkers, subordinates, and customers. Theoretical and methodological concerns related to past research are addressed. Findings indicated, as hypothesized, that perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional injustice were positively related to workplace deviance. Furthermore, dispositional aggressiveness was positively related to all forms of organizational injustice and workplace deviance. Results also show that dispositional aggressiveness maintained a relationship with workplace deviance after controlling for injustice perceptions, and that the aggressiveness-interpersonal deviance relationship is partially mediated by perceptions of distributive injustice. Overall, employees with aggressive personalities perceived more injustices and engaged in more deviant behaviors at work than nonaggressive employees. These findings specify the important role that individual differences play in the appraisal of workplace events as unfair and in choices of behavioral responses. A discussion of the current findings as well as limitations, future research avenues, and practical implications is provided.