Enforcement interventions to curb counterproductive work behavior: a behavioral ethics perspective

Shahar Ayal and Arielle Polinsky

Chapter 35 in Handbook of Counterproductive Work Behavior, 2025, pp 634-649 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) such as small-scale cheating, excessive breaks, and unprofessional communication are pervasive in workplace environments and pose considerable challenges at both the individual and organizational level. This chapter reviews contemporary research in behavioral ethics and shows how contextual factors, self-serving biases, and creative justification mechanisms enable employees to rationalize CWB while preserving a positive moral self-image. It presents an integrative framework for practical intervention strategies that combines internal and external enforcement principles. We discuss recent interventions to address prevalent CWBs such as cyberloafing, safety rule violations, and false reporting. These point to the role of internal motivation in maintaining a positive self-image, the influence of social norms, the value of peer monitoring, complemented by external monitoring measures. By fostering a culture of compliance, this approach can contribute to effectively mitigating CWB in organizational settings.

Keywords: Business ethics; Workplace culture; Employee deviance; Ethical dissonance; Social norms; Moral reminders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035306664
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