Targeted workplace incivility: The roles of belongingness, embarrassment, and power

M. Sandy Hershcovis; Babatunde Ogunfowora; Tara Reich; Amy M. Christie

doi:10.1002/job.2183

Targeted workplace incivility: The roles of belongingness, embarrassment, and power

M. Sandy Hershcovis, Babatunde Ogunfowora, Tara Reich, Amy M. Christie

Human Resource Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Research to date has largely been unclear about whether a single perpetrator is sufficient to instigate the well-documented negative consequences of workplace incivility. In the current research, we examine the extent to which perceived belongingness and embarrassment mediate the relationship between incivility from a single perpetrator and two important outcomes (job insecurity and somatic symptoms), and the extent to which the perpetrator’s power moderates these relationships. Across two studies using different methods, we find that incidents of single perpetrator incivility are associated with target feelings of isolation and embarrassment, which in turn relate to targets’ perceived job insecurity and somatic symptoms (Studies 1 and 2) both the same day and three days later (Study 2). Moreover, we find that perpetrator power moderates the relationship between incivility and embarrassment, such that targets are more embarrassed when the perpetrator is powerful. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1057-1075
Journal	JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Volume	38
Early online date	7 Feb 2017
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2183
Publication status	Published - 6 Sept 2017

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/68819/

Cite this

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title = "Targeted workplace incivility: The roles of belongingness, embarrassment, and power",

abstract = "Research to date has largely been unclear about whether a single perpetrator is sufficient to instigate the well-documented negative consequences of workplace incivility. In the current research, we examine the extent to which perceived belongingness and embarrassment mediate the relationship between incivility from a single perpetrator and two important outcomes (job insecurity and somatic symptoms), and the extent to which the perpetrator{\textquoteright}s power moderates these relationships. Across two studies using different methods, we find that incidents of single perpetrator incivility are associated with target feelings of isolation and embarrassment, which in turn relate to targets{\textquoteright} perceived job insecurity and somatic symptoms (Studies 1 and 2) both the same day and three days later (Study 2). Moreover, we find that perpetrator power moderates the relationship between incivility and embarrassment, such that targets are more embarrassed when the perpetrator is powerful. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.",

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Targeted workplace incivility: The roles of belongingness, embarrassment, and power

Abstract

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