Correlation between Organizational Cynicism and Counterproductive Work Behaviors among Nurses

Background: The incidence of counterproductive behaviors among nurses in the workplace is
another drastic phenomenon that is high among nurses who experience organizational cynicism
feelings. Purpose : to identify the correlation between organizational cynicism and
counterproductive work behaviors among nurses. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational
study. The stratified random sampling technique used in this study . A total of 550 nurses were
recruited from one University Hospital and one private hospital in Egypt. Data were collected using
two self-administered questionnaires namely: Organizational cynicism scale (OCS): It is five
point Likert scale used to measure organizational cynicism.It consists of three dimensions
containing (14) items as the following; cognitive cynicism (5 items), affective cynicism (5 items),
and behavioral cynicism (4 items). Responses ranged from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely
agree), and the mean score ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate higher levels of cynicism.
Counterproductive Behaviors Scale (CBS): It is used to measure the incidence of
counterproductive behaviors in workplace. It includes 23 items classified into five categories of
counterproductive behaviors as the following; abuses against others (9 items), interference at work
(3 items), sabotage (3 items), thefts (4 items), and avoiding work (4items). It is a 5 point Likert scale
in which responses ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (every day). Results: The mean percentage score of
organizational cynicism and counterproductive work behaviors were 90.18 ± 3.57, and 79.03 ± 1.99,
respectively. Multivariate regression model revealed that organizational cynicism accounted for
40.2% of the variances in the incidence of counterproductive work behaviors. Conclusion:
organizational cynicism is a significant antecedent for the incidence of counterproductive work
behaviors among nurses. Implications to Nursing Management: Different strategies such as career
development and advancement; considering nurses career goals and objectives; keep promises
toward nurses; putting sound reward and punishment system; and make sure that policies, and goals,
and practices are in alignment are helpful to prevent organizational cynicism and eradicate
counterproductive work behaviors