Uncivil Behavior Research Articles

Supervisor Workplace Incivility: An Experimental Investigation of the Role of Cultural Dissimilarity

The current study sought to better understand differences in perceptions of incivility, to determine whether culture plays a role in the attributions made in perceiving uncivil behavior, to assess ...

Incivility: Is It All Just Perception? Identifying the Differences in Intensity and Frequency of Perceived Uncivil Behavior

Over the past decade, incivility has emerged in organizational behavior literature as a construct that needs to be addressed given its potential to negatively affect the profitability of an organization, and the psychological well-being of employees. The direction from which these empirical studies have examined incivility from include, the conditions under which incivility occurs and the nature and consequences of incivility for individual and organizational outcomes. However, the literature is lack on the role that perceptions play in incivility. Meaning, what are the factors that contribute to employees perceiving incivility in the workforce.

Incivility in nursing: Implementing a quality improvement program utilizing cognitive rehearsal training.

Workplace incivility can be a factor in unhealthy work environments. Addressing unit culture improves job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The purpose of this quality improvement program was to educate nurses to identify and respond to hospital incivility. A community hospital in the Northeastern United States. Participants-A convenience sample of nurses. A quality improvement program was conducted, which included an incivility education module and cognitive rehearsal training. The nursing incivility scale (NIS) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational module. Participants completed the NIS before, immediately after, and 1 month after the program. Cognitive rehearsal training included role playing using scripted responses to uncivil behavior. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to compare total score and eight subscale scores on the NIS before, after, and 1 month after implementation of the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference for effect of total time as well as for five of the eight subscales. Incivility programs can provide nurses with the needed tools to identify uncivil behaviors and react in a proactive, professional manner; this promotes a safe working environment for nurses and their patients.

Maps cannot tell the whole story: Interpreting the shitscape with a mixed methods approach

This article describes the participatory methods used for mapping the expectations and understandings of Kampala city and its shitscape. I defined the shitscape as the collective sanitary apparatus that the city’s inhabitants utilise, and the relationships that mediate these infrastructures and practices. Analysis of Kampala’s shitscape therefore encounters flush toilets and latrines, septic tanks and sewage pipes, and extends to plastic bags and bottles and the wastewater channels that are used to dispose of them. The analysis examines what assumptions are made about particular toileting performances and engages with knowledge(s) of the city and its sanitation infrastructures and practices. Interviews, observations and participatory mapping were conducted in numerous places throughout the city and I utilised the city’s main drainage-channel-cum-river, the Nakivubo Channel, as a transect – observing, interviewing, and conducting participatory mapping with the city’s inhabitants I met along the Nakivubo’s course. Whilst the participatory mapping methods illustrate clear distinctions in the imagination of the city as un/sanitary, un/civilised and un/modern, the qualitative research contradicts this representation. This research suggests, then, that maps – whether archival or participatory – cannot and do not tell the whole story of a city. The ethnographic and in-depth qualitative research shows that different sanitary performances, such as using a flush toilet and using a plastic bag to shit in, are in fact bound by the same moralities of waste disposal and minimising smell. Flying toilets are not, then, a symbol of disgusting and uncivil behaviour, but rather as effective toileting solutions in highly restricted circumstances.

Employee reactions to user incivility in academic libraries

Workplace incivility and its consequences have been studied by many scholars; however, little attention has been given to the phenomenon in the library environment. More specifically, empirical research in the Library and Information Science (LIS) literature has focused on deviant behaviors, such as bullying, mobbing, and aggression, mainly from colleagues and supervisors rather than from users. However, incivility in the workplace is more common than other forms of negative behaviors, such as aggression. Moreover, in service organizations uncivil behavior from patrons is more frequently encountered than from co-workers and supervisors. In this vein, the current exploratory study aimed to investigate the manifestations and frequency of user incivility, as well as employee reactions to these behaviors in Greek academic libraries. Employee perceptions regarding the causes of user incivility were also explored. Results indicated that users are mainly impatient, angry and make unreasonable demands. These behaviors are attributed to user personality. Finally, respondents reported milder reactions to user incivility compared to those of their colleagues. Implications of the findings for library leaders are also discussed.

In their own words: Nurses countering workplace incivility.

The inexcusable effects of workplace incivility on Registered Nurses (RNs) have been extensively noted in the literature and social media. Terms such as bullying, hostile, incivility, and others have been used to describe negative behaviors that affect all health-care workers. These effects can have devastating consequences on the quality of the personal and professional lives of RNs. A qualitative research study examined how extensive the distress of workplace incivility actually is in the healthcare environment. The study also captured the perceptions of the interviewed RNs noting their own description of the destructive force incivility has upon nurses. RN's were asked their personal insights of what interventions might stop or prevent such behavior. Based on both of these findings, a collection of resources has been compiled with the intent to support RNs in managing uncivil behaviors. Although the study was a specific evaluation of RNs, the findings are applicable to other health care specialties as well.

Systems Perspective for Incivility in Academia: An Integrative Review.

The purpose of this integrative review was to identify evidence of systems thinking on civility in academic settings. Incivility is present in academic systems, including nursing education. What is learned in academia translates to the workplace. Systems-based solutions may promote quality and safety in health care. Whittemore and Knafl's integrative approach guided this study. Forty-nine articles were reviewed. Themes emerged describing incivility in nursing as embedded within layers of a performance-driven, oppressive hostile bureaucracy, trickling down, instilling fear, and reinforcing uncivil behavior among and between members. Other themes defined faculty-to-faculty and faculty-to-student incivilities, reasons for it, reactions to it, and suggestions for improved civility. The systems awareness model is offered as a means of promoting civility in nursing education. A lack of evidence to support how incivility in academia transfers to quality and safety in practice settings is identified as a gap for future study.

Why and when witnessing uncivil behavior leads observers to punish frontline employees and leave the firm

The present studies examined observer responses to failed recoveries following a service failure in a restaurant setting. Study 1 demonstrated that, relative to a neutral response, a negative server response increased desire for revenge and negative firm attitudes, which reduce tipping and return intentions, but revealed no benefits of a positive server response. Study 2 highlighted the full buffering effect of management apology on firm-related outcomes (attitudes, return intentions) which did not extend to employee-related outcomes (desire for revenge, tipping). Study 2 also supported a structural model in which negative server responses generate perceived deontic injustice, which predicts desire for revenge and firm attitudes, which in turn predict tipping and return intentions. By including outcomes more directly reflecting “revenge seeking” (tipping), and testing the most comprehensive structural model to date, the present work contributes to a fuller understanding of how customers respond to observed service failures.

Incivility as Dissent

State attempts to legislate for civility, such as the UK’s Injunctions to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance, are usually challenged on libertarian grounds. This article develops a novel democratic challenge to such legislation, arguing that un-civil behaviours sometimes constitute masked expressions of dissent. It first elaborates a conceptual analysis, linking the forms of annoying behaviour targeted by legislation with the practice of incivility. It then articulates a structural association between incivility and dissent and develops on that basis a substantive normative case for the democratic value of incivility. In this way, the article highlights the role of bad behaviour in sustaining liberal democratic institutions and the ways in which the tradition of political thought about civil disobedience can obscure the possibilities of democratic dissent. It thereby informs public debates about the ‘crisis of civility’ in modern society and offers a new perspective on scholarly debates about the ethics of resistance.

Fostering a Culture of Civility and Respect in Nursing

Harm from disrespect has been identified as the next frontier in patient safety efforts. Disrespectful and uncivil behaviors in healthcare settings can have detrimental effects on individuals, teams, organizations, and patient safety—including life-threatening mistakes, preventable complications, or harm to a patient. This article focuses on the impact of incivility on the patient care environment; explores ethical, legal, regulatory, and educational implications of workplace incivility; and provides evidence-based strategies to promote a culture of civility and respect in healthcare. Harm from disrespect has been identified as the next frontier in patient safety efforts. Disrespectful and uncivil behaviors in healthcare settings can have detrimental effects on individuals, teams, organizations, and patient safety—including life-threatening mistakes, preventable complications, or harm to a patient. This article focuses on the impact of incivility on the patient care environment; explores ethical, legal, regulatory, and educational implications of workplace incivility; and provides evidence-based strategies to promote a culture of civility and respect in healthcare. Cynthia M. Clark, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, is a Professor Emeritus at Boise State University, Idaho, and Strategic Nursing Advisor for ATI Nursing Education, living in Boise, Idaho. Conflict of Interest Compliance Article 3Journal of Nursing Regulation Vol. 12Issue 2PreviewAs is standard in scholarly publishing, NCSBN’s Journal of Nursing Regulation (JNR) requires its authors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest (COI). Although COI information has always been collected by our staff in order to support editors’ review of the paper, it was not our standard practice to publish COI statements in each article. In this issue, JNR is retrospectively publishing the COI statements, which were collected with the below papers at submission, in order to make potential COI’s transparent to readers, as well as editors. Full-Text PDF

“You can't escape it”: Bullying experiences of New Zealand nursing students on clinical placement

BackgroundBullying in nursing is not a new phenomenon and nursing students are not exempt from its effects, however there is limited literature that deals directly with bullying of nursing students within the clinical environment in New Zealand. Quality clinical placements are vital to facilitate the link between theory and practice whilst working in complex healthcare settings. AimThe purpose of this article is to present the experiences described by nursing students regarding the nature and extent of bullying during clinical placements. DesignThis study employed a cross-sectional survey design using an electronic survey in which this paper focuses on the textual data provided by nursing students from across New Zealand. Data was analysed by coding and grouping into themes. ResultsThere were numerous uncivil behaviours students were subject to during clinical placements. The consequences of these behaviours had physical, psychological and financial implications for students, with some suggestions that they choose to leave the nursing profession. ConclusionsPredominantly the practice setting is clearly not nurturing enough for nursing students; a situation unlikely to change in the near future. Hence academic institutions must be proactive in developing students' ability to address incivility in these environments and to educate their own staff on how to recognise and respond to bullying in the clinical arena.

The Effects of Group Discussion and Self-Learning on Nursing Students' Civility.

Background:Uncivil behavior is a widespread problem among nursing students. Using a proper strategy can help teachers to reduce incivility, and its negative outcomes. The aim of this research was to compare the effects of group discussion, and self–learning on perceived level and rate of incivility in nursing students.Materials and Methods:A two group quasi-experimental design was used to perform the present study. The course was approved by ten members of the nursing faculty for teaching in January 2018. There are about 82 bachelor degree nursing students participated in a course that was designed to teach civility as a course syllabus. Subjects were randomly allocated to discussion group (41 students), and self-learning group (41 students). Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised Questionnaire (INE-R) was used to measure perceived level and occurrence rate of incivility in nursing students. In discussion group, eight sessions were conducted to teach course contents and each session lasted one hour. Self-learning group studied a booklet about civility. Paired and independent t-test was used to compare pretest and posttest mean scores.Results:Both groups indicated an improvement in perceived level of incivility. The mean score for occurrence rate of incivility in the discussion group was significantly higher than in the self-learning group (t80 = 4.63, p < 0.001). There were significant differences between two groups for perceived level (t80 = 2.81, p = 0.02) and rate of incivility (t80 = 3.01, p = 0.01).Conclusions:Using course syllabus to educate nursing students can lead to reducing perceived level of incivility and providing active discussion is an appropriate strategy for promoting academic civility.

Discriminatory language in the workplace: unmasking prejudices and stereotypes / El lenguaje discriminatorio en contextos laborales: desenmascarando prejuicios y estereotipos

The link between language, communication and open discrimination has been the focus of numerous studies. For many years, language has been a vehicle of prejudice and negative stereotypes. However, in the last few years, overt verbal aggressions have diminished thanks to the implementation of equality policies and awareness-raising initiatives. Despite that, negative attitudes against protected groups might not have disappeared and may instead be transmitted subtly, such as through uncivil language. The goal of this research is to study the relation between language and subtle discrimination against lesbian and gay (LG) workers. With this goal in mind, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted. The analysis showed that LG people are victims of subtle discrimination and that language is one of the most common vehicles of prejudice and negative stereotypes. Jokes, inappropriate comments and questions are the expression of negative attitudes, which are probably present at an implicit level. Due to the ambiguity of these expressions and the settings where they have been studied — the workplace — these acts could be defined as uncivil behaviours. Practical implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Incivility Among Radiography Educators in the United States

Purpose: Medical imaging education must nurture a civil environment for both students and educators. Because faculty incivility can potentially compromise learning and interfere with workplace productivity, this study examined the perceptions of incivility among radiography educators in the United States. Methods: A survey research method was designed to examine the severity and frequency of incivility among educators teaching in radiography programs accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JCERT). Using a scale of 1 to 4, the participants in this study considered their perceptions of faculty incivility among radiography educators within their respective departments. Results: Civility has been demonstrated as a perceived problem in this survey. A total of 240/1,333 educators completed the survey, resulting in a response rate of 18%. Only 40.4% (97/240) of the participants in this study perceived that the severity of incivility was not a problem. The majority of the participant perceived civility to be an issue with 23.8% (57/240) reporting a minor problem; 39/240 (16.3%) said it was a moderate problem; and 47/240 (19.6%) believed faculty incivility is a major problem among radiography educators in the United States. Interestingly, severe uncivil faculty behaviors did not occur as often as behaviors classified as less severe. A very weak negative correlation was found between perceived severity of faculty incivility and age of radiography educators, indicating age increased as the perceived severity of faculty incivility slightly decreased and vice versa. Conclusions: Faculty incivility is perceived to be occurring among radiography educators in the United States. This study provides a foundation for future research to address various aspects of incivility among imaging sciences and radiation therapy educators in the United States.

Correlating Self-Report and Trace Data Measures of Incivility: A Proof of Concept

This study correlated self-report and trace data measures of political incivility. Specifically, we asked respondents to provide estimates of the degree to which they engage in uncivil political communication online. These estimates were then compared to computational measures of uncivil social media discussion behavior. The results indicated that those who self-disclose uncivil online behavior also tend to generate content on social media that is uncivil as identified by Google’s Perspective application programming interface. Taken as a whole, this work suggests that combining self-report and behavioral trace data may be a fruitful means of developing multimethod measures of complex communication behaviors.

WORKPLACE INCIVILITY AND BURNOUT AMONG PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS

ABSTRACT The relationship between Workplace Incivility and Burnout was examined in a sample of 122 Professional Firefighters in Midwestern United States of America. Inconsistent with previous literature, there was not a statistically significant relationship found between the primary variables despite low to moderate levels of Workplace Incivility and high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. These results may indicate that while professional firefighters experience Burnout, it is not caused by Workplace Incivility but rather something else. We make the argument this is due to a unique culture where the traditional definition of uncivil behavior does not apply to professional firefighters. Consistent with the Burnout phenomenon a significant relationship was discovered between the three dimensions of Burnout including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Although despite high levels of Burnout in the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions, the personal accomplishment dimension had low levels, indicating burned out employees still felt a personal sense of accomplishment. Keywords Workplace Incivility, Burnout, Firefighters, Uncivil Behavior, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, Personal Accomplishment

ESL Versus Non-ESL Nursing Students' Perceptions of Incivility in the Clinical Setting.

Incivility toward nursing students in the clinical setting has been reported. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there was a difference between English as second language (ESL) and non-ESL nursing students' perceptions of staff nurse incivility. The Uncivil Clinical Behavior in Nursing Education Tool and the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism/Collectivism Scale were used to collect data. A final sample of 975 surveys was analyzed. Exclusionary behaviors, total incivility, and vertical collectivism were significantly different between ESL and non-ESL students. However, the effect size of the finding was small. Time in the program, age, and gender were significant predictors of incivility. Although ESL status did not influence exclusionary behaviors, vertical collectivism, or student perceptions of staff nurse incivility, it may be predicted by time in the program, age, and gender. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(12):720-726.].

Relationships between incivility and stress and self-efficacy among nursing students in clinical settings

Background: In nursing education, clinical practice is a crucial process for students to learn and practice knowledge and skills for becoming healthcare professionals.Objective: To investigate the effects of the experience of incivility on nursing students’ stress and self-efficacy in clinical settings.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered surveys by a convenience sample of 195 nursing students in South Korea. The surveys included sociodemographic questions, the 13-item Korean version of Uncivil Behavior in Clinical Nursing Education (K-UBCNE), the 24-item Korean versions of Beck-Srivastava Stress Inventory (K-BSSI), and the 24-item of Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE).Results: The average age of our sample was 22.33 years (± 2.39). Among 195 study participants, junior students were 123 (63.1%) and senior students were 72 (36.9%). Mean score of total incivility by the K-UBCNE among the seniors was significantly higher than the juniors (t = -2.985, p = .002). Pearson correlations results indicated that the nursing students’ incivility experience was positively correlated with the K-BSSI (r = .679, p &lt; .01), and the ASE (r = .680, p &lt; .01). Lastly, Clinical Education Environment (t = 1.985, p = .049), Undesired Role Model (t = 6.650, p = .000) and Interpersonal Conflict (t = 2.486, p = .014) from K-BSSI were the predictors for incivility, F(7, 195) = 28.110, p = 000.Conclusions: Incivility adversely influences students’ learning. Nurse educators and RNs should recognize the serious implications of incivility and develop effective interventions to combat incivility. Further studies of stress, self-efficacy, and incivility in the clinical sites are warranted.

Incivility Toward Nursing Students in Clinical Rotations: Measuring the Incidence and Testing Interventions.

The purpose of this study was to measure nursing student perceptions of incivility in the clinical learning environment and test interventions that improve these perceptions. The secondary aim was to further test the reliability of the Nursing Student Perception of Civil and Uncivil Behaviors (NSPCUB) tool. Incidence of incivility in nursing is well documented in the literature; however, there are few evidence-based interventions to combat this phenomenon. NSPCUB was administered to 314 nursing students. Data were used to develop hospital-wide and unit-specific interventions. After implementation of the interventions, the survey was administered to 410 students. There was a statistically significant mean increase for 7 of the 12 survey items, hospital-wide, and the findings reenforced NSPCUB as a highly reliable tool. This instrument can be used by nurse executives to measure perceptions of incivility, identify areas for improvement, and implement interventions.

The Construal of Workplace Incivility in Honor Cultures: Evidence From Turkey

Most research on workplace incivility has been conducted in the United States, where the cultural logic of dignity prescribes that individuals’ worthiness be determined in reference to self-set standards. This inductive study explores the construal of workplace incivility in a contrasting cultural logic of honor, where an individual’s worth is largely dependent on the esteem of others. In particular, it seeks to understand how the logic of honor may influence which behaviors are labeled as incivility and which criteria are used to appraise uncivil behaviors in the Turkish context. In the first phase of the study, we asked 53 Turkish employees for examples of workplace incivility behaviors and generated 32 incivility episodes. In the second and third phases, using data from 35 business students and 106 Turkish employees, we analyzed these episodes using multidimensional scaling technique. The results suggested that workplace incivility may have both universal and culturally salient manifestations, and that Turkish respondents appraised uncivil behaviors along three dimensions: honor threatening versus ordinary, excluding versus intruding, inoffensive versus offensive. We further observed that Turkish participants differentiated the power of the instigator (supervisor vs. coworker) as well as the omission of versus commission of behaviors. We discuss the results with a focus on understanding how the honor logic may manifest itself in professional relationships.