Feeling Powerless at Work? That’s When Rule Bending Spikes

Article: Work Locus of Control as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Work Stressors and Counterproductive Work Behavior by Justin M. Sprung and Steve M. Jex.

Fun note: one of the authors, Dr. Steve Jex, is a University of Central Florida (UCF) professor I know personally and my current lab professor. I also do I-O psychology research at UCF, so this topic is close to home. Check him out on his UCF page (https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/person/steve-jex/).

The quick gist

This survey study looked at 191 full-time employees and linked everyday work stressors to counterproductive work behavior (things like wasting time, arguing, or quietly undermining work). The lens here is the work locus of control.

• People with a more external work locus of control, who believe outcomes depend mostly on luck or powerful others, reported more counterproductive behavior overall.

• Organizational constraints (red tape, broken tools) and interpersonal conflict (friction with coworkers) showed the strongest ties to counterproductive behavior.

• Those ties were stronger for externals than for internals. When work feels out of your hands, stressors are more likely to spill into rule-bending or withdrawal.

Why this matters to business owners

Process friction and tense interactions already cost time and money. They cost more when people feel they cannot influence the outcome. That is when small hassles turn into time loss, relationship churn, and quality dips. The fix is twofold: remove friction and increase real control.

What to do about it

Here is a simple owner’s playbook you can start using this month:

1. Hunt constraints first. List the top five slowdowns that keep people from doing good work. Fix one per week. Even small wins, like a clearer approval path or the right tool, reduce fuel for bad outcomes.

2. Cool conflict loops. Teach short scripts for hard moments, define a quick escalation path, and set norms for respectful disagreement. Reduce repeat flare-ups.

3. Add choice where you can. Let teams choose the path to results, set micro-deadlines, and protect focus blocks. More choice increases perceived control and lowers the odds of acting out.

4. Coach supervisors to build control. Train leads to clarify goals, remove blockers quickly, and offer real input points before decisions are final. People lean in when their actions matter.

5. Make fairness visible. Write down how raises, schedules, and project assignments are decided. Stick to it. Clear procedures lower frustration and increase buy-in.

6. Track two signals weekly. Ask, “What slowed you down?” and “Where did you feel low control?” Use the answers to drive next week’s fixes.

Key takeaways

• An external work locus of control links to more counterproductive behavior.

• Constraints and conflict are the stressors most tied to these outcomes, especially for people who feel low control.

• Reduce friction and increase perceived control to curb costly behaviors.

FAQ

Why does this matter to me as an owner? Because when work feels out of control, small hassles become costly behavior. Fixing constraints and building real choice pays back in steadier performance.

How would this look in my business? After you clean up a few approvals and give teams control over how to hit targets, you should see fewer flare-ups, fewer avoidable delays, and less quiet resistance.

What are the first steps to applying this? Run a 30-minute “blockers and control” huddle. Pick one blocker to remove this week and one place to add the team choice. Announce both changes and check the impact next week.

How do I measure progress? Track three things together: 1) blockers removed, 2) weekly pulse on “I can influence my results,” 3) minor incidents of rule-bending or friction. You want blockers down, influence up, friction down.

Does hiring for an internal locus solve this? Not by itself. Hiring helps, but environment wins. Even highly self-directed people struggle in high-constraint, high-conflict settings. Pair good hiring with better design.

APA citation

Sprung, J. M., & Jex, S. M. (2012). Work locus of control as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Stress Management, 19(4), 272–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030320