Criminal records and on the job behavior: A systematic literature review.

• In Event: Collateral consequences, criminal records and employment

Abstract

Research demonstrates that more than half of the job applicants are asked whether they have a criminal record at some point during their job search process, and that the use of criminal background checks is ever growing. Given the many restrictions they face on the job market, this suggests ample and convincing proof that people with a criminal past make poor employees. However, a synthesis of relevant empirical research on this topic is lacking. Therefore, our current systematic literature review attempts to give an overview of research investigating whether or not people with criminal records differ from those without such records in their on the job behaviors, such as task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and workplace deviance. The relatively scarce research available seems to suggest that a conviction history does not predict counterproductive work behavior. The results of this systematic literature review allow for a critical reflection on the current steep rise in criminal record checks, as well as policy initiatives like Ban-the-Box, in order to increase successful employment outcomes for both employer and employee. Above all, they manifest the need for more research contributing to an accurate view of how employees with a criminal background actually behave on the job.

Authors

• Elina van 't Zand-Kurtovic, Leiden University

• Ard Barends, Leiden University