Supervisor incivility and turnover intention of the employees in the hospitality industry of China

Abstract

PurposeAs supervisor incivility and its negative effect may impact employees’ psychological health and even the sustainable development of hospitality enterprises, this study aims to explore the channels through which it affects employee turnover intention in China’s hospitality industry and suggest possible mitigation measures.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted exploratory factor analysis, measurement model analysis and the mediation and moderation model and used SPSS and PROCESS for the analysis.FindingsThis study found that the impact of supervisor incivility on the employees’ turnover intention would be through employees’ ego depletion and revealed that organizational support would alleviate such a negative effect. However, organizational support might not mitigate the impact of supervisor incivility on the employees’ ego depletion, which is inconsistent with previous studies. This study inferred that organizational support might be somewhat related to organizational pressure, thereby enhancing the impact of supervisor incivility on the employees’ ego depletion.Research limitations/implicationsThis study not only enriches incivility literature but also suggests new insights into the mixed role of organizational support.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies that mainly focused on workplace pressure from colleagues or customers, this study broadens our understanding of the employees’ turnover intention affected by supervisors’ workplace incivility and the mixed role of organizational support.