The bright side of work-related deviant behavior for hotel employees themselves: Impacts on recovery level and work engagement

Abstract

This study examines the immediate positive benefits of work-related deviant behavior on hotel employees’ re­ covery level and work engagement leveraging conservation of resources (COR) theory as an overarching framework. Using a two-wave daily diary approach, data from 74 hotel employees over 10 consecutive workdays were collected to examine potential immediate benign effects of work-related deviant behavior and whether moral identity can intensify or mitigate the positive consequences of this behavior. Findings suggest that workrelated deviant behavior exerts an immediate positive influence on recovery level. Moreover, conducting workrelated deviant behavior has a positive indirect effect on work engagement via recovery level. Additionally, the observed effects are moderated by moral identity, such that these effects become stronger among employees with low (vs. high) moral identity. We further interviewed 17 hotel employees to supplement our quantitative results. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.