Cyber technologies have, even in the last few years, drastically changed the workplaces that workers operate within. Now, with remote work technologies, the “Office” or “Workplace” can even be one’s own house, opening up a new layer of workplace activity.

“Workplace deviance” is the intention to cause harm to a workplace or workplace environment. This can be seen as a intrapersonal deviance, or malicious activity directed at the people within the workplace, or it can be organizationally directed, be that at the management of a company, the company’s profits or intellectual property, etc. There are varying levels of severity when categorizing workplace deviance, going from “minor” infractions, such as gossiping about coworkers or being late, to serious infractions, such as sexual harassment or theft of property.

Cyber technology has opened up new avenues in terms of workplace deviance by making access to other people, company technology, or company time easier. An example of this would be the disconnect that a zoom call or a substack chat causes between members of a workplace team. By removing the intrapersonal elements of a workplace team, it is much easier for dissent between team members to break out and for members to treat each other inhumanely, be that intentional or unintentional. Video conferencing and remote work also opens a new issue in regards to productivity, as it is much easier to get away with low productivity when in a home environment, not being watched by superiors

Cyber related technologies also make it easier to access, exploit, and manipulate company IP. When a company doesn’t have proper security protocols set to view certain data, it opens the door for potential intellectual theft, sabotage, or other damage relating to data. Technology is also a vector for new types of attacks, such as malware, which if in the right hands can damage or even steal data from a company and the employees working within. As the workplace evolves, we should update our security standards for the office, train individuals on how to interact with coworkers when our work is completely remote, and ensure that new technologies being implemented do not pose a risk for employees and employers in the future.