How and When Workplace Incivility Decrease Employee Work Outcomes. A Moderated-Mediated Model

Abstract

Drawing on the Organizational Support Theory (OST) and Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), this study investigates how experiences of workplace incivility translate into employee outcomes: attitudinal (job satisfaction, affective commitment) and behavioral (task performance, contextual performance and counterproductive work behavior). It has been hypothesized that experiences of incivility from coworkers lead to the attribution of a lack of perceived organizational support (POS). As a result of this process, coworkers, unable to count on the support, react negatively at the attitudinal and behavioral level. The study was conducted on 405 employees from companies form various sectors operating in Poland. Statistical verifications of the moderation and mediation were conducted via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS. The results show that experiencing incivility from coworkers reduces POS, with the relationship growing stronger the more the employees are victimized by abusive supervision. Furthermore, the results revealed that POS fully mediates between experiencing incivility and employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. This study integrates research on workplace incivility, abusive supervision, POS and employee outcomes, and the findings have important implications for research on organizational behavior.