Explaining workplace delinquency: The role of Honesty–Humility, ethical culture, and employee surveillance

• Personality and organization were hypothesized to affect workplace delinquency.
• Honesty–Humility was the main personality predictor of workplace delinquency.
• Ethical culture and employee surveillance were related to workplace delinquency.
• No interactions between the three predictors were observed.

In this research the effects of personality and organizational characteristics on workplace delinquency were investigated. In a sample of 455 respondents from a wide variety of organizations, two personality traits, HEXACO Honesty–Humility and Conscientiousness, and two organizational characteristics, ethical culture and employee surveillance, explained a significant amount of variance in workplace delinquency. No interaction effects between personality and organizational practices in the explanation of workplace delinquency were found. Results are discussed in light of the role of personality and Routine Activity Theory in predicting unethical behaviors, delinquency, and/or occupational crime in organizations.