Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Job stress is associated with negative workplace behaviour, but whether stress-related deviance is statistically linked to distinct motivational, capability-related and strain-based pathways remains unclear in knowledge-service work, where employee effort and rule compliance are often difficult to observe. This cross-sectional survey study tested a conditional process model examining whether job stress was associated with minor workplace deviance through organizational commitment, occupational self-efficacy and work-related depletion, and whether moral disengagement strengthened these associations. Survey data from 465 full-time employees in knowledge-intensive service roles were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and conditional process modelling. Job stress was positively associated with minor workplace deviance. Organizational commitment, occupational self-efficacy and work-related depletion showed statistically significant indirect associations, with work-related depletion showing the largest model-estimated indirect association. Moral disengagement strengthened the direct stress-deviance association and the conditional indirect associations through organizational commitment and work-related depletion, but not through occupational self-efficacy. Within the limits of cross-sectional self-report data, the findings are consistent with three psychological pathways linking job stress and minor workplace deviance, and suggest that moral disengagement may intensify stress-related deviant coping mainly through motivational and strain-based mechanisms rather than through capability beliefs.</p>