- published: 22 Jan 2010
- views: 5071
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.
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 psychology research.