Cyber and Face to Face Incivility and Employee Well being: A Daily Investigation

Transcription

1 Cyber and Face to Face Incivility and Employee Well being: A Daily Investigation (ERC Pilot Research Project) YoungAh Park Shuang Yueh Pui Steve M. Jex

2 What is workplace Incivility? A form of low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. (Andersson & Pearson, 1999)

3 Image source: workplacepsychology.files.wordpress.com/2010/... activerain.com/.../4/5/3/1/ar jpg

4 Why study workplace Incivility? One of the most prevalent forms of mistreatment at work (Cortina et al., 2001) Multiple sources (e.g., superiors, subordinates, coworkers, customers/clients, etc.) Consistent research findings on the negative effects of experiencing incivility on well-being (psychological physical), job attitudes, job performance and productivity (e.g., Cortina et al., 2001; Lim & Lee, 2011; Lim et al., 2008; Pearson et al., 2001; Porath & Erez, 2008; Sliter et al., 2010) Q1: Is workplace incivility a meaningful everyday stressor affecting employees daily well-being at work?

5 What is Cyber Incivility? Uncivil behaviors manifested through interactions (Lim & Teo, 2009) Sending s using rude/discourteous tones Saying something hurtful in an that one would not say in person Using CAPS to shout at someone via s Using s for time-sensitive issues Ignoring an request Image source: testkitchen.colorado.edu/.../06/rudecomputer.jpg img.ehowcdn.com/article page main/ehow/images...

6 According to national surveys & NORA. (2008; 2007; 2002; 1996) Over 60% working adults use s at work Inappropriate and disrespectful content and/or behaviors cause stress Respondents reported They have received sent in anger Their boss have used to avoid difficult face-to-face conversations NORA calls for research on Potential harms of emerging technologies to employees Three-fifths of the technologies are info/communication tech.

7 Cyber Incivility Research findings (Lim & Teo, 2009; Lim et al., 2009) Low levels of job satisfaction & organizational commitment Counter productive work behaviors (behavioral response to stress) Q2: Is cyber incivility distressing to employees above and beyond face-to-face incivility? Characteristics of communication (Byron, 2008; Freidman & Currall, 2003) Less control over incoming messages Politeness norms are less salient in communication No containing social cues for message senders to self-correct Delayed responses and feedback from senders Reviewable excess attention

8 Hypotheses Based on Affective Event Theory framework (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) H1: Day-specific face-to-face incivility is positively related to day-specific distress on the job (affective, physical distress). H2: Day-specific cyber incivility is positively related to dayspecific distress on the job above and beyond face-to-face incivility.

9 Method 143 full-time employees using at work completed initial one-time survey via online (measuring demographics, negative affective disposition) 125 out of 143 participants completed 2 daily online surveys for 5 workdays (87% response rate) $50 online gift certificate provided Final sample: 117 people yielding 566 matched daily responses for analysis 56% Female, 86% White, 43.9 years old (SD = 11.8), work hours per week (SD = 7.7)

10 Method (Diary design) Variables Frequency of Assessment Time of Assessment Negative affective disposition Once 2 weeks before daily surveys Control Baseline 5 days Upon arrival at work in the Morning (between 7am 10am) Workload & load 5 days Afternoon before leaving work (between 4pm 7pm) IV Face to Face & Cyber Incivility 5 days Afternoon before leaving work (between 4pm 7pm) DV Distress outomes 5 days Afternoon before leaving work (between 4pm 7pm)

11 Method 9 items of face-to-face incivility (Cortina et al., 2001) : Today, someone at work put me down. 14 items of cyber incivility (Lim & Teo, 2009) : Today, someone at work sent me an using a rude and discourteous tone 14 affective distress items: annoyed frustrated depressed (Mackay et al., 1978) 14 physical symptoms (e.g., headache upset stomach fatigue (Spector & Jex, 1998) Multilevel analysis with a hierarchical linear modeling 1. Null model: Intercept only model 2. Model 1: Control variables (Negative affectivity, daily workload, load, morning baseline) 3. Model 2: Face-to-face incivility 4. Model 3: Cyber incivility

12 Results H 1 was supported with face-to-face incivility predicting affective distress (γ =.82, p <.001) and physical distress (γ =.16, p <.05) above and beyond control variables. H 2 was supported with cyber incivility predicting affective distress (γ =.36, p <.01) and physical distress (γ =.19, p <.01) above and beyond face-to-face incivility and control variables.

13 Discussion Workplace incivility is a meaningful day-to-day stressor affecting employees daily well-being Cyber incivility inflicted additional distress on employees over and above face-to-face incivility Given the prevalent use of for work and business communication, researchers and organizations should pay more attention to this electronic form of incivility Possible interventions : code of conduct policies, communication policies, trainings on incivility

14 Future Directions Given the blurring boundaries between work and family due to info./communication technologies (e.g., smart phones), negative effects of cyber incivility can spillover to the family domain or crossover to other family members Why people are uncivil? - workplace norms on civility/interpersonal respect - job characteristics conducive to incivility occurrences Coping patterns to incivility (Cortina et al., 2009) Efficacy of incivility trainings

15 Thank you! Any questions? This research study was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Pilot Research Project Training Program of the University of Cincinnati Education and Research Center Grant #T42/OH

16 Reference Andersson, L., & Pearson, C. (1999). Tit for Tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, Byron, K. (2008). Carrying too heavy a load? The communication and miscommunication of emotion by . Academy of Management Review, 33, Cortina, L. M. & Magley, V. J. (2009). Patterns and profiles of response to incivility in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,14, Cortina, L.M., Magley, V.J., Williams, J.H., & Langhout, R.D. (2001). Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6, Friedman, R. A., & Currall, S. C. (2003). Conflict escalation: Dispute exacerbating elements of communication. Human Relations, 56, Lim, S., Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2008). Personal and workgroup incivility: Impact on work and health outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, Lim, S., & Lee, A. (2011). Work and nonwork outcomes of workplace incivility: Does family support help? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, Lim, S., Lim, V.K.G., Cortina, L., & Magley, V. J. (2009). Reactions to interpersonal and cyber incivility: The role of perceived injustice. In V. J. Magley, A. McGonagle, & J. A., Gallus (Chairs), Rude awakenings: New research on experiences of workplace incivility. Symposium presented at the 24 th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New Orleans, LA. Lim, V.K.G., & Teo, T.S.H. (2009). Mind your e-manners: Impact of cyber incivility on employees work attitude and behavior. Information & Management, 46, Mackay C, Cox T, Burrows G, Lazzerini T. (1978). An inventory for the measurement of self-reported stress and arousal. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17,

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