Effects of Employee Tenure on Workplace Deception

This paper describes the results of a study that tested two hypotheses predicting employees’ behaviour in the workplace. The study predicted that employee tenure was a significant variable affecting perception of workplace deception. The study also predicted that employees who have the highest tenure in the in the current workplace will significantly perceive more workplace deception as a common practice than those who have lower tenure. Further, the study predicted that employees with the highest tenure in the workplace wil perceive managers as being more deceptive than younger coworkers. A total of 216 questionnaires were administered via an online survey. 44.9% of the questionnaires were returned completed and consisted of 67% female and 33% male. The subject populations ages were 16.1% of the respondents stated they were between 18 and 24, 43.7% were between 25 and 34, for the ages of 35-44, the response rate was 28.7% and 11.4% were over 45, the range of 20 to over 55 years of age. The results of our study supported our hypotheses. The data confirmed that as time with employer increased, so did the perception of workplace deception. 58% of employee's with 7 or more years of tenure were agreed or strongly agreed that they perceive deception in the workplace as common. Also, there was a linear correlation with age and the perception that one's manager has been deceptive. 67% of employees surveyed indicated that they agree or strongly agree managers were perceived as deceptive, and 61% agreed or strongly agreed to have personally observed their manager being deceptive.