Deviant Employee Behaviour in Light of Perceived Behaviour of Their Superiors in Organizations in Slovenia and the Role of Organizational Anomie as a Moderator

Abstract

Deviant behaviour in organizations is studied from various perspectives, often with researchers citing the behaviour of superiors in the organization as a cause for employees' deviant behaviour. This article, through a review of relevant literature, examines whether this association also exists in the Slovenian context, while introducing the concept of organizational anomie as a moderator into the analysis. The results of a study conducted in 2023 among employees in organizations in Slovenia who reported on both their own deviant behaviour and that of their superiors, are presented. The results indicate that respondents more frequently perceive deviant behaviour among their superiors than among themselves; that there are statistically significant correlations between the forms of deviant behaviour exhibited by superiors and those exhibited by employees; that these correlations are contingent upon the form of behaviour; and that in individual cases, these correlations are contingent upon the level of organizational anomie. The findings are discussed in the context of factors and relationships related to the concept of organizational deviance.