Counterproductive Work Behavior in Public Universities: The Contribution of Workplace Stressors

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the effect of workplace stressors on the occurrence of counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) of workers in public universities in western Kenya.Design/Methodology/Approach: The design employed was the explanatory research design that aimed at establishing a relation between the study variables. The study was conducted in six public universities with respondents drawn using stratified and simple random sampling technique.Findings: The results showed that workplace stressors were negatively related to counterproductive work behavior in a statistically significant way, r = -0.608, p < 0.01. These findings highlight the need to focus on workplace factors that can cause stress among workers.Implications/Originality/Value: Strategies to reduce stress in the workplace should be effectively implemented by University management by ensuring that the job demands are congruent to an appropriate organizational resource and support. Under-resourcing and over-resourcing are likely to lead to more interpersonal conflict, emotional stress and actions that have a negative impact on organizational performance. Therefore, it is important to establish a healthy and positive work culture to lower the level of workplace stress and stop the occurrence of negative employee behaviors that could be counterproductive for university employees.