Deviance in the fast‐food restaurant: Correlates of employee theft, altruism, and counterproductivity

Abstract

Existing research suggests that employee deviance is highest in occupational settings that rely heavily on “marginal” workers—especially those who are young with little tenure—who believe that they are treated unfairly by their employers. As a test of this proposition, an anonymous survey was conducted among a two‐company national sample of 341 fast‐food restaurant workers. Three fifths of the respondents reported some level of personal involvement in theft of company property during the previous 6 months. In addition, more than one third were involved in “altruistic” forms of property deviance. Moreover, four fifths of the respondents reported involvement in counterproductive activities against the organization. Contrary to expectations, a slightly different explanatory solution emerged for each of the three forms of employee deviance. Personal property deviance was principally a function of age and perceived employer unfairness—both interacting with tenure. Involvement in altruistic property deviance was solely a function of age—engaged in almost exclusively by employees younger than 21 years. Production deviance, alternatively, was a by‐product of perceived employer unfairness regardless of age or tenure with the company. In sum, these findings suggest that employee deviance may not be as much a unidimensional phenomenon as was previously believed.

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