A Cup of Coffee Can Help You Act Ethically at Work

TUCSON, Ariz. – April 3, 2014 – Lack of sleep, a common condition in the U.S. workforce, can lead  to unethical behavior in the workplace, according to research by business  professors at the University of Washington, the University of Arizona, and the University  of North Carolina.

But the equivalent of a large cup of coffee can help sleep-deprived  employees bolster their ability to control their behavior and resist unethical temptations,  according to their new study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.  

“When you’re sleep deprived at work, it’s much easier to simply go  along with unethical suggestions from your boss because resistance takes effort  and you’re already worn down,” said David Welsh, an organizational  behavior professor at the University of Washington. “However, we found that  caffeine can give sleep deprived individuals the extra energy needed to resist  unethical behavior.”

“According to our research, sleep deprivation contributes to  unethical behavior at work by making you more susceptible to social influences,  such as a boss who tells you to do something deceptive or unethical. Caffeine  can help employees resist such temptations,” said Michael Christian, an  organizational behavior professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. “It helps  to strengthen self-control and willpower when employees are sleep deprived.”

Christian and lead author David T. Welsh of the University  of Washington and co-authors Aleksander P. J. Ellis and Ke Michael Mai of the  Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona published their findings  in the article “Building a Self-Regulatory Model of Sleep Deprivation  and Deception: The Role of Caffeine and Social Influence.”  

“We built on our earlier research that shows that the lack  of sleep depletes a person’s ability to regulate their thoughts, emotions, and  behaviors and increases unethical acts,” said Christian. “Our new study examines  the role of caffeine in self-regulation and the ability to resist the negative  influence of powerful others – those with influence or authority – when sleep  deprived.”

“Employers need to be aware that today’s employees are  working longer hours and getting less sleep,” said Welsh. “Establishing an  ethical code of conduct may not be sufficient if employees are too worn down to  align their behavior with organizational standards.”