Remote-work capacity and deviant workplace behaviors: the contrasting associations of schedule flexibility and remote supervision
Josias Asael Guzman, Juan Jose Lopez callejasPurpose
Remote work is often assumed to invite employee misconduct. This study aims to examine how organizational digitalization relates to five dimensions of organizational remote-work capacity and how these dimensions relate to deviant workplace behaviors (DWB) among formal-sector employees in Honduras, where remote work functions as an episodic institutional response rather than a routine arrangement.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data from 244 formal-sector workers in Honduras, collected between March and April 2026 and screened using explicit response-time and straight-lining criteria, were analyzed using structural equation modeling with second-order constructs and robust maximum likelihood estimation.
Findings
Organizational digitalization showed no direct association with DWB (β = −0.041, p = 0.786) but was positively associated with structural dimensions of remote-work capacity such as digital connectivity, working conditions and remote supervision. Schedule flexibility was positively associated with DWB (β = 0.246, p = 0.021), while remote management and supervision was negatively associated with DWB (β = −0.286, p = 0.040). The model explained 18.1% of DWB variance (R2 = 0.181), with acceptable absolute fit but CFI and TLI below conventional thresholds.
Research limitations/implications
Behavioral risk lies in how remote work is configured, not in the modality itself. Schedule flexibility requires explicit availability and accountability rules, while remote supervision operates as a coordination resource rather than surveillance.
Practical implications
Behavioral risk does not appear inherent to remote-work capacity itself but may relate to how specific dimensions are configured. Organizations offering schedule flexibility may benefit from explicit availability, coordination and accountability guidelines, while remote supervisory practices are best understood as coordination and role-clarification resources rather than surveillance.
Originality/value
Grounded in situational strength theory, this study reframes “remote-work capacity” as a multidimensional configuration of enabling conditions rather than a uniform lived experience, showing that aggregate remote-work measures can mask opposing dimensional associations with DWB in a Central American context where remote work remains exceptional rather than routine.