Workplace incivility
Encyclopedia
Workplace incivility
has been defined as "low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target. ... Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous
, displaying a lack of regard for others." Incivility is distinct from violence. Examples of workplace incivility include insulting comments, denigration of the target's work, spreading false rumors, social isolation, and bad manners.
research.
and impropriety such as:
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overlaps to some degree with workplace incivility but tends to encompass more intense and typically repeated acts of disregard and rudeness. Negative spirals of increasing incivility between organizational members can result in bullying, but isolated acts of incivility are not conceptually bullying despite the apparent similarity in their form and content. In case of bullying, the intent of harm is less ambiguous, an unequal balance of power (both formal and informal) is more salient, and the target of bullying feels threatened, vulnerable and unable to defend himself or herself against negative recurring actions.
Incivility
Incivility is a general term for social behaviour lacking in civility or good manners, on a scale from rudeness or lack of respect for elders, to vandalism and hooliganism, through public drunkenness and threatening behaviour...
has been defined as "low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target. ... Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous
Courtesy
Courtesy comes from old french 'courteis' is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the gentry was compiled in courtesy books...
, displaying a lack of regard for others." Incivility is distinct from violence. Examples of workplace incivility include insulting comments, denigration of the target's work, spreading false rumors, social isolation, and bad manners.
Research findings
A summary of research conducted in Europe suggests that workplace incivility is common there. In research on more than 1000 U.S. civil service workers, Cortina, Magley, Williams, and Langhout (2001) found that more than 70% of the sample experienced workplace incivility in the past five years. Similarly, Laschinger, Leiter, Day, and Gilin found that among 612 staff nurses, 67.5% had experienced incivility from their supervisors and 77.6% had experienced incivility from their coworkers. In addition, they found that low levels of incivility along with low levels of burnout and an empowering work environment were significant predictors of nurses’ experiences of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Compared to men, women were more exposed to incivility; incivility was associated with psychological distress and reduced job satisfaction. The reduction of workplace incivility is a fertile area for further occupational health psychologyOccupational health psychology
Occupational health psychology emerged out of two distinct applied disciplines within psychology, health psychology and industrial/organizational psychology, and occupational health. OHP is concerned with the psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that contribute to the development of...
research.
Subtle/covert examples
Examples at the more subtle end of the spectrum include:- giving somebody a "dirty look" (example of an internet expression): "0 _ 0" or " <____> ".
- asking for input and then ignoring it.
- "forgetting" to share credit for a collaborative work.
- speaking with a condescending tone.
- interrupting others.
- not listening.
- waiting impatiently over someone's desk to gain their attention.
- side conversations during a formal business meeting/presentation.
Covert/overt examples
Somewhere between the extremes are numerous everyday examples of workplace rudenessRudeness
Rudeness is a display of disrespectfulness by not complying with the social "laws" or etiquette of a group or culture. These laws have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted behavior...
and impropriety such as:
- sending a nasty and demeaning note (hate mailHate mailHate mail is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient...
). - talking about someone behind his or her back.
- emotional put-downs.
- Disrespecting workers by comments, gestures or proven behaviors (hostility) based on characteristics such as their race, religion, gender, etc. This is considered workplace discriminationDiscriminationDiscrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. - making accusations about professionalProfessionalA professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
competence. - underminingSocial underminingSocial undermining is the opposite of social support. For example, in the context of the workplace, it refers to intentional offenses aimed at destroying another's favorable reputation, their ability to accomplish their work, or their ability to build and maintain positive relationships.-See also:...
credibilityCredibilityCredibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.Traditionally, modern, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and subjective components. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective...
in front of others. - overruling decisions without giving a reason.
- disrupting meetings.
- giving public reprimands.
- giving the silent treatment.
- not giving creditCredit (creative arts)In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.-Credit in the arts:...
where credit is due. - giving dirty looks or other negative eye contact (i.e. "Hawk eyes" considered to be threatening in the culture of the United States).
- insulting others.
Overt examples
More overt forms of incivility might include emotional tirades and losing one's temperRage
Rage may refer to:* Rage , an intense form of anger- Games :* Rage , a 2011 first-person shooter and racing video game developed by id Software* Rage Software Limited, a defunct game developer...
.
Workplace incivility v workplace bullying
Workplace bullyingWorkplace bullying
Workplace bullying, like childhood bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behaviour against a co-worker or subordinate. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation...
overlaps to some degree with workplace incivility but tends to encompass more intense and typically repeated acts of disregard and rudeness. Negative spirals of increasing incivility between organizational members can result in bullying, but isolated acts of incivility are not conceptually bullying despite the apparent similarity in their form and content. In case of bullying, the intent of harm is less ambiguous, an unequal balance of power (both formal and informal) is more salient, and the target of bullying feels threatened, vulnerable and unable to defend himself or herself against negative recurring actions.
See also
- Counterproductive work behavior
- Human resource development
- Occupational health psychology
- Sexual harassmentSexual harassmentSexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
Books
- Bunk JA The role of appraisals, emotions, and coping in understanding experiences of workplace incivility (2007)
- Gallus JA Assertive coping with workplace incivility (2005)
- Kelley S Dishonorable treatment: workplace incivility, cultures of honor (2007)
- Kirk BA The role of emotional self-efficacySelf-efficacySelf-efficacy is a term used in psychology, roughly corresponding to a person's belief in their own competence.It has been defined as the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain set of goals. It is believed that our personalized ideas of self-efficacy affect...
and emotional intelligenceEmotional intelligenceEmotional intelligence is a skill or ability in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Various models and definitions have been proposed of which the ability and trait EI models are the most...
in workplace incivility and workplace satisfaction (2006) - Lee AYH Will workplace incivility result in work-family spillover?, Singapore Management University. School of Social Sciences (2008)
- Liptrot G Experiences of workplace incivility: outcomes and moderating influences of coping style, social supportSocial supportSocial support can be defined and measured in many ways. It can loosely be defined as feeling that one is cared for by and has assistance available from other people and that one is part of a supportive social network...
and negative affect (2005) - Loi NM Sex differences in workplace incivility and sexual harassment: (2006)
- Martin R Development and validation of the scale of workplace incivility (2004)
- Milam AC Individual differences and perceptions of workplace incivility (2006)
- Penney LM Workplace incivility and counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB): what is the relationship and does personality play a role? (2002)
- Polson SC Examining who and why: testing a moderated mediational model of workplace incivility (2008)
- Preston M Creating conflict: antecedents of workplace incivility (2007)
- Riley RP Coping with workplace incivility: effects on retaliatory behaviors (2005)
- Schmitt CM Examining the relationship between social allergens, counterproductive work behaviors, and workplace incivility (2006)
- Settles RL Understanding the presence of workplace incivility in K–12 schools: perceptions and responses from teachers (2008)
- Simmons DC Organizational culture, workplace incivility, and turnover: (2008)
- Smith DJ Workplace incivility and emotional labor in hospital nurses (2007)
- Windhorst SM Workplace incivility and the low-status target (2006)
Academic papers
- Dion MJ The impact of workplace incivility and occupational stress on the job satisfaction and turnover intention of acute care nurses – April 2006Incivility, social undermining, bullying...oh my!': A call to reconcile constructs within workplace aggression research |journal=Journal of Organizational Behavior |year=2010 |doi=10.1002/job.689 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=499–519}}
- Hornstein HA Workplace incivility: An unavoidable product of human nature and organizational nurturing – Ivey Business Journal, November/December 2003
- Hutton SA Longitudinal Study of Workplace Incivility in a Hospital – University of Cincinnati 2008
- Kain VJJM The Relationship between workplace incivility and strain: Equity sensitivity as a moderator – Bowling Green State University 2008
- Lewis PS Workplace Incivility: Results of a Pilot Study 2009
- Lim VKG, Chin JY Cyber Incivility at the Workplace: What has Supervisor's Sex got to do with It? – PACIS 2006 Proceedings, 2006
- Linvill JS Surviving workplace incivility: The use of supportive networks as a coping strategy – Purdue University, 2008
- Namie G Workplace bullying: Escalated incivility – Ivey Business Journal, 2003
- Roberts SJ Incivility as a function of workplace favoritism and employee impulsivity – University of Nebraska at Omaha 2009
- Shim JH, Park S Concept exploration of workplace incivility: Its Implication to HRD – University of Minnesota
- Simmons DC Organizational culture, workplace incivility, and turnover: The impact of human resources practices – University of Louisville 2008
- Taylor SG Cold Looks and Hot Tempers: Individual-Level Effects of Incivility in the Workplace 2010
- Trudel J Workplace incivility: Relationship with conflict management styles and impact on perceived job performance, organizational commitment and turnover – University of Louisville 2009
- Vickers MH Writing what's relevant: workplace incivility in public administration-a wolf in sheep's clothing – Administrative Theory & Praxis, March 1, 2006
- Yang LQ, Spector PE, Zhang XC, Lin XH Occupational Stress among Chinese Service Workers: The Role of Workplace Incivility
- Zauderer DG Workplace incivility and the management of human capital – The Public Manager, Spring 2002