Examples Of Deviance In The Workplace

Workplace deviance is a can be a serious issue throughout the workforce. It can come in many forms such as gossip, poor management, stealing, lying, and tardiness or absences in the workplace to name a few. Many administrations strive to establish an atmosphere of conformity and teamwork to achieve maximum efficiency while creating a healthy corporate culture. Deviance can occur in any size of the organization, which in turn can sabotage any and all efforts. In the medical profession, as a future billing and coding specialist, it is my duty as an employee to follow protocol set out by my employer when it comes to coding. Instructors have taught us that charging an insurance company more than the allocated amount for a specific medical visit for reimbursement can result in a sanction, or the employee responsible can be fired. This term is called upcoding, a fraudulent and inaccurate billing code to increase reimbursement on a medical procedure or treatment (Oxford, 2016).
Interpersonal deviance attempts to damage relationships through activities such as gossiping, lying and allocating blame. Gossip between coworkers and bosses can create deviant workplace behavior. Gossiping slows productivity and can create bad morale amongst coworkers. Disrespect in general is a known deviant behavior. When you begin to disrespect your peers, clients, and supervisors it can be detrimental to your workplace. Loud phone calls to clients to discuss personal information, is not only a deviance but is also violation of HIPAA. Talking back to your employer is not only disrespectful but could result in job