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Incivility Begets Incivility: Understanding the Relationship Between Experienced and Enacted Incivility with Customers Over Time

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Abstract

Workplace incivility, characterized by low-intensity, ambiguous, and rude interpersonal interactions, is typically conceptualized with an events-based perspective (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). Research suggests, however, that both experienced and enacted incivility may be more pervasive and occur consistently or repeatedly, and this cumulative strain experience may impact future enacted incivility. Here, we examine negative emotions and compassion fatigue as mechanisms that explain experienced and enacted incivility between nurses in a high-stake hospital setting and their patients. Data were collected once per week for 4 weeks, enabling us to examine how these relationships unfold over time. Results from the four-wave survey indicate that experienced patient incivility is positively related to negative emotions and to compassion fatigue and that perceived patient acuity can exacerbate these detrimental relationships. Lastly, experienced patient incivility is related to increased future enacted incivility towards patients indirectly through increased negative emotions and compassion fatigue. These findings suggest that repeated exposure to incivility leads to both poor well-being outcomes for the target of incivility and to future enacted incivility. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Saint Louis University, 3700 Lindell Boulevard, Morrissey Hall, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA

    Candice L. Thomas, Andrea M. Cornelius, Haley R. Cobb, Lauren D. Murphy & Dulce Vega

  2. Psychology Department, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Lars U. Johnson

Authors
  1. Candice L. Thomas
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  2. Lars U. Johnson
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  3. Andrea M. Cornelius
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  4. Haley R. Cobb
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  5. Lauren D. Murphy
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  6. Dulce Vega
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All authors substantially contributed to, read, and approved the submitted manuscript.

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Correspondence to Candice L. Thomas.

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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helinski. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board Ethics Committee of Saint Louis University (12/4/2018, IRB Protocol # 29709).

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Thomas, C.L., Johnson, L.U., Cornelius, A.M. et al. Incivility Begets Incivility: Understanding the Relationship Between Experienced and Enacted Incivility with Customers Over Time. J Bus Psychol 37, 1255–1274 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09795-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09795-2

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