Recollection of Bullshit Work Episodes (vs. Meaningful or Neutral Ones) Relates to Negative Affect, Deviant Work...

This study builds upon Riester and Keller (2025) and extends prior findings by (a) employing an experimental approach involving the recollection of neutral, positive (meaningful) or negative (bullshit) work episodes (b) examining the effect of the experimental manipulation, and specifically the recollection of bullshit episodes, on the reported likelihood to engage in deviant work behavior, turnover intentions and negative affect, (c) investigating the mediating role of negative affect, and (d) analyzing the moderating role of work ethic. In a sample of German employees (N = 253), we manipulated the recollection of experienced work episodes, including a neutral, a meaningful, or a bullshit episode. Results show that recalling bullshit work episodes was associated with increased negative affect and, in turn, with enhanced likelihood to engage in problematic workplace behavior and turnover intentions compared to the other experimental conditions. Furthermore, these relationships were amplified among individuals with stronger work ethic convictions. In contrast, the effects of recollecting meaningful (vs. neutral) experiences at work were not significant for all dependent variables. The study extends prior research (Riester & Keller, 2025) through an experimental investigation and underscores the effects of bullshit job experiences on negative affect, the tendency to engage in unethical work behavior and the critical role of work ethic.