Research: When Is Leniency the Right Response to Employee Misconduct?

February 11, 2025

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Summary.

One of the less appealing aspects of a manager’s job is addressing employee misconduct. In our research, we define this as behavior that breaches moral standards, such as cheating and discriminating against others, or technical performance standards, such as violating safety protocols or coming in late. Often, organizations have protocols that managers are supposed to follow in these cases; company policy might state that the employee should be suspended or even fired. Standard punitive procedures uphold rules, signal how employees should behave (and how they should not behave), and deter bad behavior.

Kate P. Zipay is an Assistant Professor of Management and a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Working Well at the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue University. Her research investigates the fruitful ways life — in and outside of the workplace — influences employee emotions, attitudes, and behaviors.

Marie Mitchell is the Edward M. O’Herron Scholar and Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research studies behavioral ethics, workplace exclusion, and destructive and conflictive work behavior and relationships. The goal of Dr. Mitchell’s research is to explain causes and consequences of dysfunctional, exclusionary, and unethical behavior in order to enhance effective, inclusive, and ethical behavior in the workplace.

Read more on Managing people or related topics Managing employees, Business law and ethics, Leadership and managing people, Business ethics and Management

Research: When Is Leniency the Right Response to Employee Misconduct?

Summary.

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