Suffering doubly: How victims of coworker incivility risk poor performance ratings by responding with organizational deviance, unless they leverage ingratiation skills

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building on conservation of resources theory, this study investigates the relationship between employees’ exposure to coworker incivility and their job performance ratings, while also considering the mediating role of their deviant work behaviors and the moderating role of their ingratiation skills. Results based on multisource, three-wave data from employees and their supervisors in Pakistani organizations show that disrespectful coworker treatment diminishes employees’ performance evaluations, because they seek purposefully to cause harm to their employing organization, as a way to vent their frustrations. This mediating role of organizational deviance is mitigated to the extent that employees have a greater ability to ingratiate with others though. This study accordingly identifies a key mechanism – deviant work behaviors that undermine organizational well-being – through which coworker incivility leads to negative performance consequences, and it reveals how organizations can subdue this process by honing pertinent personal resources within their ranks.