Who Strikes Back? A Daily Investigation of When and Why Incivility Begets Incivility

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rosen, Christopher C.; Koopman, Joel; Gabriel, Allison S.; Johnson, Russell E.
• 署名单位: University of Arkansas System; University of Arkansas Fayetteville; University System of Ohio; University of Cincinnati; University of Arizona; Michigan State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0000140
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 1620-1634
• 关键词: incivility; ego depletion; construal level; ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS; EXPERIENCE SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

摘要

Incivility at work-low intensity deviant behaviors with an ambiguous intent to harm-has been on the rise, yielding negative consequences for employees' well-being and companies' bottom-lines. Although examinations of incivility have gained momentum in organizational research, theory and empirical tests involving dynamic, within-person processes associated with this negative interpersonal behavior are limited. Drawing from ego depletion theory, we test how experiencing incivility precipitates instigating incivility toward others at work via reduced self-control. Using an experience sampling design across 2 work weeks, we found that experiencing incivility earlier in the day reduced one's levels of self-control ( captured via a performance-based measure of self-control), which in turn resulted in increased instigated incivility later in the day. Moreover, organizational politics-a stable, environmental factor-strengthened the relation between experienced incivility and reduced self-control, whereas construal level-a stable, personal factor-weakened the relation between reduced self-control and instigated incivility. Combined, our results yield multiple theoretical, empirical, and practical implications for the study of incivility at work.