Towards understanding workplace incivility: gender, ethical leadership and personal control

Abstract

ABSTRACT Few public management studies have examined the prevalence of workplace incivility and ways to reduce uncivil behaviour towards women and minority groups. The present research examines the influence of employee gender, personal control, and ethical leadership on workplace incivility experiences in public workplaces using data collected from government and non-profit employees in Pakistan. We find that women are more likely than men to experience workplace incivility, but this relationship attenuates when the direct supervisor exhibits ethical leadership. We also find that ethical leadership and personal control are associated negatively to workplace incivility experienced by both male and female public employees.