Incivility In The Workplace

Should we all try to be nice at work? Evaluate the impact of workplace incivility on worker well-being and task performance.
The workplace has become a very intense vast environment, it’s becoming more technologically complex, more diverse and certainly more competitive. This environment can produce high intense emotions, which can cause conflict and incivility within the workplace which can affect task performance. Workplace incivility can be described as “deviant workplace behaviour of low intensity that can include such behaviour as being rude, discourteous, impolite or violating workplace norms of behaviour” (Shawn Grimsley, Workplace Incivility: Definition & Overview Chapter 8 / Lesson 31), it’s becoming more frequent, and research has

The next form of incivility is ambiguous intent which is a misunderstanding or personality differences which can cause unintentional harm. Finally the last form is low intensity, which is a lower intensity than aggression; it can include verbal (swearing and hurtful comments) and non-verbal behaviours such as glaring or immature behaviour. Targets of incivility are likely to feel maltreated and that they have been treated unjustly, this can inflict psychological problems such as anxiety and depression which can cause serious implications to their workplace

workers report they have experienced or witnessed some kind of bullying—verbal abuse, insults, threats, screaming, sarcasm or ostracism. One study by John Medina showed that workers stressed by bullying performed 50% worse on cognitive tests. Over the past ten years, research investigating workplace incivility has estimated that prevalence rates may be between 75% and 100%, meaning that nearly all employees have experienced some level of incivility from their coworkers, supervisors, or customers/clients. The exceptionally high frequency of occurrence for incivility is cause for concern because research has consistently demonstrated that the effects of incivility can compound over time. As a result, incivility has been shown to lead to a host of deleterious effects on employee and organizational well-being. In terms of personal outcomes, coworker incivility has been linked to higher levels of employee burnout, feelings of strain, and decreased psychological well-being. In terms of organizational outcomes, incivility has been related to employee withdrawal, decreased satisfaction, and decreased