Experienced Incivility Research Articles

Building Confidence, Diminishing Stress: A Clinical Incivility Management Initiative for Nursing Students.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive program designed to reduce nursing students' perceived stress and improve self-efficacy and readiness to professionally address incivility during clinical practice. Incivility in clinical settings adversely impacts learners, educators, institutions, and healthcare systems, undermining safety and the teaching-learning process. Despite its increasing global prevalence, effective interventions remain largely unexplored. Our mixed-methods study, conducted from March to April 2024, involved senior baccalaureate pre-licensure nursing students (N = 35) from a California State University. The three-week, one-hour-per-week, interactive clinical incivility management program was developed through an extensive literature review. Pre- and post-intervention differences were assessed using a 10 min self-administered online survey that included the Uncivil Behavior in Clinical Nursing Education (UBCNE; 12 items), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; 10 items), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE; 10 items), and a sample characteristics questionnaire (11 items). A one-hour face-to-face focus group (n = 11) then provided qualitative data on personal experiences of clinical incivility. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 27, while qualitative data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Clinical incivility prevalence was 71.4% (n = 25 out of 35). No statistically significant differences were found in UBCNE, PSS, and GSE scores between pre- and post-intervention. However, professional responses to clinical incivility significantly improved after the intervention (t = -12.907, p < 0.001). Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: (a) uncivil behaviors or language from nurses, (b) emotional discouragement and low self-confidence, (c) resource and personnel shortages at clinical sites for education, and (d) the necessity for interventions to manage clinical incivility. Nursing schools and clinical agencies should collaborate to establish monitoring systems, enhance communication, and implement evidence-based policies and interactive interventions to prevent and manage clinical incivility experienced by nursing students from clinical sites.

When incivility begets incivility among hotel employees: The moderating effects of trait mindfulness and negative affect

The negative impact of workplace incivility on hospitality employees has garnered growing interest. However, most hospitality studies have focused on understanding the impact of customer incivility. Bridging this gap, this research draws on the negative reciprocity belief perspective to propose and test the positive impact of employees’ experience of incivility on their enactment of incivility, which is negatively moderated by trait mindfulness (two-way) and positively moderated by the interaction of trait mindfulness and negative affect (three-way). Two-wave data were collected from 328 hotel employees and managers in Jordan and analysed through structural equation modeling. Results indicated that experienced incivility is positively related to enacted incivility. This positive relationship was mitigated when trait mindfulness was high. Furthermore, negative affect strengthened the positive relationship between experienced and enacted incivility only when trait mindfulness was low. The study’s findings offer implications to help hospitality scholars and hotel managers reduce incivility incidents and impact.

Within‐ and between‐person effects of causal attributions on relationship improvement following perceived incivility

AbstractWorkplace incivility research has grown considerably over recent decades. However, this stream of research still has not adequately explained targets' attributions for experienced incivility or their potential positive responses to incivility. The present study longitudinally investigates the relationship between attributions for workplace incivility and relationship improvement responses with data from 1871 person‐month observations. In contrast to expectations, we found targets' beliefs that their relationship with the uncivil coworker was the cause of the incivility (i.e., relational locus of causality) were negatively related to relationship improvement behaviours. The results also indicated that this negative relationship was attenuated by belief that the target had control over the cause of incivility (i.e., internal controllability) and task interdependence at the between‐person level, and by belief that the uncivil coworker had control over the cause of incivility (i.e., external controllability) at the within‐person level. Direct effects analysis indicated that internal and external controllability attributions for incivility had significant positive between‐person effects on relationship improvement efforts. Frequency of interaction and task interdependence were both significant positive predictors of relationship improvement efforts at both the between‐ and within‐person levels. Implications for research and future directions are discussed.

The prevalence of incivility in hospitals and the effects of incivility on patient safety culture and outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Workplace incivility is a barrier to safe and high-quality patient care in nursing workplaces and more broadly in tertiary hospitals. The present study aims to systematically review the existing evidence to provide a comprehensive understanding of the prevalence of co-worker incivility experienced and witnessed by nurses and other healthcare professionals, the effects of incivility on patient safety culture (PSC) and patient outcomes, and the factors which mediate the relationship between incivility and patient safety. A systematic review with narrative synthesis and meta-analysis was undertaken to synthesize the data from 41 studies. Databases searched included MEDLINE, PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PsycInfo, ProQuest, Emcare and Embase. Searches were conducted on 17 August 2021 and repeated on 15 March 2023. The pooled prevalence of experienced incivility was 25.0%. The pooled prevalence of witnessed incivility was 30.1%. Workplace incivility was negatively associated with the PSC domains of teamwork, reporting patient safety events, organization learning/improvement, management support for safety, leadership, communication openness and communication about error. The composite pooled effect size of incivility on these domains of PSC was OR = 0.590, 95% CI [0.515, 0.676]. Workplace incivility was associated with a range of patient safety outcomes (PSOs) including near misses, adverse events, reduced procedural and diagnostic performance, medical error and mortality. State depletion, profession, psychological responses to incivility, information sharing, help seeking, workload and satisfaction with organizational communication were found to mediate the relationship between incivility and patient safety. Experienced and witnessed incivility is prevalent in tertiary hospitals and has a deleterious effect on PSC and PSOs. A better understanding of the mechanisms of this relationship will support the development of interventions aimed at reducing both incivility and patient harm. This study quantifies the effect of incivility on PSC and outcomes. It provides support that interventions focusing on incivility are a valuable mechanism for improving patient care. It guides intervention design by highlighting which domains of PSC are most associated with incivility. It explores the profession-specific experiences of workplace incivility. This report adheres to PRISMA reporting guidelines. No patient or public contribution. The focus of this study is the nursing and healthcare workforce, therefore, patient or public involvement not required.

Incivility experiences of racially minoritised hospital staff, consequences for them and implications for patient care: An international scoping review.

Workplace incivility is a pervasive complex problem within health care. Incivility manifests as subtle disrespectful behaviours, which seem inconsequential. However, evidence demonstrates that incivility can be harmful to targets and witnesses through negative emotions, poorer mental health, reduced job satisfaction, diminished performance and compromised patient care. It is unclear to what extent existing research critically explores how ethnicity, culture and racism influence how hospital staff experience incivility. This global scoping review systematically analysed existing research exploring the specific ways incivility manifests and impacts racially minoritised hospital workers. Of 2636 academic and 101 grey literature articles, 32 were included. Incivility experiences were categorised into four themes: (1) Cultural control, (2) Rejection of work contributions, (3) Disempowerment at work and (4) Managerial indifference. The included articles highlighted detrimental consequences, such as negative emotions, silencing, withdrawal and reduced support-seeking behaviours. Few studies presented evidence regarding the negative impacts of incivility on patient care. Racialisation and racial dynamics are a significant factor for hospital-based incivility. Currently we do not know the extent to which racialised incivility is associated directly or, perhaps either via burnout or disengagement, indirectly with poorer care. This knowledge can inform the creation of comprehensive, evidence-based interventions to address this important issue.

Workplace Incivility and Its Impact on Public Employees’ Job Search Behavior

While extensive research documents that workplace incivility has negative consequences for both employees and organizations, there has been limited research on how workplace incivility experiences affect public-sector employees. This study examines the associations between workplace incivility experiences and public employee job satisfaction and job search behavior. Relying on the Conservation of Resources theory, this article develops a research model that suggests that workplace incivility experiences prompt job search by lowering employee job satisfaction. The analysis of survey data collected from 751 professional employees working in a state-level law enforcement agency shows that both supervisor and coworker incivility are associated positively with employee job search behavior, but supervisor incivility has a stronger association. Moreover, the analysis shows that the indirect effects of supervisor incivility and coworker incivility on job search behavior through job satisfaction are stronger for employees of color and weaker for older employees. These findings have implications for public-sector human resource management.

Gender differences in workplace incivility experiences and their impacts on the well-being and retention of women in law enforcement organizations

Abstract This study examines differences in workplace incivility experiences between policewomen and policemen and the impacts of workplace incivility experiences on the emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions of policewomen. The analysis relies on survey data collected from 591 officers across 6 law enforcement organizations in the USA. The research reveals that, compared to policemen, policewomen report significantly higher levels of workplace incivility. Policewomen also report heightened emotional exhaustion and express a greater intention to leave their current positions than policemen. Moreover, the study finds that the increased workplace incivility experienced by policewomen exacerbates emotional exhaustion and may prompt them to consider leaving their organization. The implications of these findings for the well-being and retention of women in law enforcement organizations are thoroughly discussed.

A temporal investigation of experienced incivility and perpetrated counterproductive work behaviour

AbstractFollowing the principles of dynamic equilibrium theory (DET), this study examined the stable (institutional) and dynamic (episodic) components of mistreatment [experienced incivility and perpetrated counterproductive work behaviours (CWB)] using two longitudinal field samples based on a latent trait–state modelling approach. Study 1 (N = 615) leveraged a weekly lag design over four assessment points and Study 2 (N = 880) leveraged a monthly lag design over five assessment points. Across the two studies, results indicated that the majority of variance in both mistreatment constructs was institutional (i.e., individuals have meaningful set points that persist over time). Furthermore, institutional experienced incivility was positively related to institutional perpetrated CWB (i.e., the set point for experiencing incivility was positively related to the set point for perpetrating CWB). Similarly, episodic experienced incivility was concurrently associated with episodic perpetrated CWB (i.e., atypical episodes of experienced incivility were concurrently related to atypical episodes of perpetrated CWB). Interestingly, episodic experienced incivility did not have a lagged effect on future episodic perpetrated CWB, while episodic perpetrated CWB did have a lagged effect on future episodic experienced incivility. As such, for minor atypical episodes of mistreatment (i.e., incivility), we found evidence of dynamic equilibrium in that there are immediate episodic changes in other forms of mistreatment, but internal adaptive mechanisms appear to neutralize these effects over time. Meanwhile, overt atypical episodes of mistreatment (i.e., CWB) appear to have both immediate and lasting effects on other forms of mistreatment. These results have implications for DET, as well as for predicting the effectiveness of mistreatment research methodologies and interventions.

Exploring relationships and reflections on nurse educator civility behaviors

BackgroundIncivility continues to impact nursing education, necessitating continued exploration of incivility experiences, causes, and interventions. PurposeThis study examined relationships between nurse educators’ reflections on their own and peers’ civility-related behaviors. MethodNurse educators (n = 82) at 20 Midwestern prelicensure nursing programs completed an online survey utilizing the Clark Workplace Civility Index ©, followed by reflective Likert-style and demographic questions. FindingsParticipants scored their own civility behaviors higher (M = 82.59) than peers’ (M = 73.5) (t = 8.911, p = 0.000). With implementation of civility interventions in the nursing program, self (t = 2.7, p = 0.007) and peer (t = 4.0, p = 0.000) scores were higher compared to programs without. Over one-third (34.1%) of participants were neutral or disagreed that nursing education is a civil profession. DiscussionOngoing efforts toward civil environments are needed in nursing education.

Responding to incivility: exploring revenge and incivility climate

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to test a mediated-moderated model with revenge cognitions as a coping mechanism through which experienced incivility leads to perpetrated incivility. The authors further explore the role of organizational climate for incivility.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were tested utilizing ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and Hayes (2017) process for mediation and moderation. Study 1 was completed by 321 employees, and study 2 was completed by 197 employees each from across many occupations.FindingsStudy 1 results indicate support for a positive relationship between experienced incivility and perpetrated incivility. Study 2 results indicate support for a mediated-moderated relationship where experienced incivility was indirectly associated with incivility perpetration through revenge, and the perception of an incivility climate moderated this relationship.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine revenge as an explanatory mechanism for responding to incivility. It addresses concerns about revenge cognitions to experiencing incivility and the role climate perceptions play in shaping whether an individual will reciprocate with an uncivil act. The authors’ results accentuate the need for organizations to decrease or eradicate incivility so that their employees can evade the associated adverse outcomes.

A Clinical Incivility Management Module for Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Incivility experienced by pre-licensure nursing students in clinical settings continues to grow. Interventions for clinical incivility to nursing students are needed. Our study aimed to examine the effects of a piloted two-hour interactive incivility management module on nursing students' perceived stress and general self-efficacy levels and preparedness for responding professionally to clinical incivility. A quasi-experimental post-test-only non-equivalent comparison design with control and experimental groups was used. Senior nursing students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program from a nursing college located in Seoul, South Korea, were recruited. The control group (n = 94) completed a self-administered online survey without the clinical incivility management module. The experimental group (n = 93) completed the same survey after receiving the clinical incivility management module. The two groups' survey data were compared; qualitative data from the experimental group's post-module debriefing session were also analyzed. The prevalence of reported clinical incivility was 72.73% (n = 137 out of 187 participants). Clinical incivility experienced by the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (z = -4.865, p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in stress levels and self-efficacy between the two groups. The mean score of the experimental group on preparedness for responding professionally to clinical incivility was statistically higher than the control group's mean score (z = -2.850, p = 0.004). Interventions to prepare students for the experience of clinical incivility are useful; they can positively affect the students' ability to respond professionally.

Miesten kokema selektiivinen loukkaava käyttäytyminen naisvaltaisilla aloilla

Selective incivility experienced by males in female-dominated fields Workplace incivility has attracted an increasing attention among scholars. Nevertheless, extant research on selective incivility has mostly focused on the female gender and male-dominated fields. To fill the obvious research gap, in this study men working in female-dominated occupations were asked to anonymously write about their personal experiences of workplace incivility. Based on the empirical analysis, the workplace incivility experienced by the informants can be grouped to five main categories: humiliating acts, exclusion, unreasonable demands, violating norms, and accusing. The analysis suggests that the nature of workplace incivility reported by men in this study is similar to that experienced by women as reported in previous studies. Therefore, it seems that workplace incivility often targets those representing the minority gender on fields dominated by the other gender. Interestingly, based on this study, the acts of workplace incivility often derive from gender norms and

Faculty-to-faculty incivility in nursing academia: A qualitative systematic review.

There is limited research evidence to show that faculty-to-faculty incivility exists in nursing academia. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesize the current qualitative evidence on experiences of incivility between faculty colleagues. A meta-aggregation approach was applied according to guidelines established by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Studies published from inception to January 31, 2022 were searched from the databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, SCOPUS, ERIC, PQDT, Ebook Central, and ProQuest Central Korea. Thirteen qualitative studies were included, resulting in the following six synthesized findings: (1) incivility tactics, (2) nursing academic environment that enabled incivility, (3) individual characteristics that aggravated incivility, (4) reactions to incivility, (5) coping strategies, and (6) impacts of incivility. Based on the synthesized findings listed above, this study offers the following four recommendations: (1) the academic culture should be improved, (2) institutional policies and procedures should be prepared, (3) faculty members should be educated on respectful communication skills, and (4) better mentoring programs should be provided to newcomers and novice faculty members. As all relevant studies were conducted in Western countries, it is important for future research to focus on issues pertaining to faculty-to-faculty incivility in Eastern culture. PROSPERO CRD42022321261.

Revenge or forgiveness? The dual-path mechanism of employee coping with experienced incivility from an attribution perspective

Revenge or forgiveness? The dual-path mechanism of employee coping with experienced incivility from an attribution perspective

Experienced incivility undermines the positive effects of job autonomy on mental and physical health

Integrating insights from conservation of resources theory related to both the positive effects of resources and the detrimental effects of resource loss, this paper examines the effect of job autonomy (an organizational-level resource) on subjective physical pain as mediated by mental health, with experienced workplace incivility (a social stressor) included as a boundary condition. Drawing from the results of a state-wide survey of local government professionals (N = 289), we test a moderated mediation model that estimates the relationships amongst job autonomy, mental health, and physical pain, at differing levels of experienced incivility. Mental health is found to fully mediate the negative relationship between job autonomy and physical pain. When the moderating effect of workplace incivility is incorporated into the model, higher levels of uncivil behavior weaken the otherwise positive and significant effect of job autonomy on mental health. However, the relationship between mental health and physical pain does not depend on levels of workplace incivility. This research has important implications for the management of physical and mental health at work. In particular, the results point to a need to develop human resource policies and practices that both promote job autonomy and tackle experiences of workplace incivility, particularly in local governments.

The Moderated Mediation Effect of Organizational Incivility Experience in the Influence of Organizational Communication and Positive Psychological Capital on Job Performance of Office Workers

The Moderated Mediation Effect of Organizational Incivility Experience in the Influence of Organizational Communication and Positive Psychological Capital on Job Performance of Office Workers

The Effect of Organizational Incivility Experience on Life Satisfaction of Childcare Teachers Focusing on the Dual Mediating Effects of Job Stress and Job Satisfaction

The Effect of Organizational Incivility Experience on Life Satisfaction of Childcare Teachers Focusing on the Dual Mediating Effects of Job Stress and Job Satisfaction

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

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.

Medical student perceptions and experiences of incivility: a qualitative study

BackgroundIncivility is rude, dismissive or aggressive behaviour in the workplace. Rates of incivility are increasing in healthcare settings, with minority groups at greatest risk. Medical students are particularly vulnerable to incivility whilst on clinical placements, with detrimental consequences on students’ learning and mental health. Therefore, this study explored the perceptions and experiences of incivility from healthcare workers amongst medical students.MethodsAn online qualitative questionnaire study employing a thematic analysis. Students in years 3–5 or intercalating at a large West Midlands medical school were recruited between May–June 2022. Qualitative free-text questions explored students’ experiences of incivility from healthcare workers over the past 12 months, and actions in response to incivility. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. All researchers agreed thematic saturation was reached at 50 responses, with all year-groups represented.ResultsFive core themes were identified: abuse of hierarchy; exclusion; discrimination; response to incivility; barriers to action. Participants reported a range of uncivil behaviour from staff, including mocking, exclusion and discrimination. Discriminatory incivility targeted students’ protected characteristics, including race, sex, sexual orientation and disability. In response to experiencing or witnessing incivility, participants varied in their preferred mode of action. Many viewed formal escalation to senior staff as favourable action. Meanwhile, other participants would not escalate concerns and instead respond with peer support or allyship. Marked barriers prevented students from challenging or reporting incivility, including a lack of confidence; failures and fears of reporting systems; and perceived severity of abuse.ConclusionOur findings identify the extensive incivility experienced by medical students on clinical placements, which is frequently perpetuated by abusive workplace hierarchy. Whilst students recognise the importance of reporting uncivil behaviours, barriers to reporting include unrecognised incivility, psychological consequences and failed reporting systems. In order to reform toxic educational environments, we recommend medical schools to integrate formal civility training into the curriculum and restructure accessible, supportive reporting systems.

Employees' Reactions to a Citizen Incivility Climate: A Multilevel Multisource Study.

Although public service employees are regularly exposed to uncivil behavior by citizens, we still know little about the effects of these incivilities. This study aims to examine the reactions of public employees who work in a climate of citizen incivility. Using a multilevel multisource design, we examine the indirect effects of citizen incivility climate on employee withdrawal and helping behaviors via job tension, and test the moderating influence of employees' public service motivation on these relationships. Our analyses were performed using data collected from a sample of 734 employees and 77 supervisors working in Canadian public libraries. Results show that public servants who work in a climate of citizen incivility experience greater job tension and consequently show more withdrawal and less helping behaviors. Our results also show that public service motivation acts as a buffer against the detrimental effects of incivility climate on helping behaviors, but not against withdrawal.