Be nice and fair or else: understanding reasons for employees' deviant behaviors

Purpose – This paper aims to review research about four forms of deviant employee behavior: unexplained absenteeism/tardiness, employee theft, incivility, and violence. It is believed that, when an organization and its managers are perceived to be fair and supportive, employee deviant behavior will decrease. Design/methodology/approach – Because the literature on employee deviant behavior is so vast, the typology of deviant behavior proposed by Robinson and Bennett to select and frame these four forms of deviance was used. Practical implications – Employees can behave in a variety of ways that are harmful to the organization, such as stealing, sexual harassment, or purposefully taking long breaks. Sometimes this misbehavior happens despite the best efforts of managers to enforce organizational rules, but managers can do more to prevent such behavior than just rule enforcement. Originality/value – This paper identifies new reasons for managers to behave in a fair and equitable way toward employees. The point is made that such behavior is in a manager's best self‐interest because it reduces his/her subordinate's deviant behavior. Finally, specific and research‐based recommendations for manager behavior are provided.