Incivility is systematically associated with indicators of health, stress, well-being, and the psychosocial work environment

Abstract

Abstract Aim Incivility is one of the most intrusive forms of antisocial behavior in the workplace. Using a newly constructed, single-item measure of incivility, the aim of the current study was to assess the possible prevalence of incivility in a sample from the Swedish retail industry, and to investigate possible associations between prevalence of incivility and a multitude of indicators of health, stress, well-being, and the psychosocial work environment. Subject and methods A total of 1014 (20%) individuals enrolled in the cross-sectional study and responded to a questionnaire, partially or fully. We conducted t-tests to assess possible differences in the indicators between those responding “Yes” versus “No” regarding prevalence of incivility at their workplace. Results Incivility at work was related to statistically significant differences in mean values in 32 out of 33 key indicators of health, well-being, stress, recovery, and the psychosocial work environment. Those reporting a prevalence of incivility systematically exhibited worse ratings. Conclusion The findings are in line with previous research. Although this study cannot infer causality, the profoundly systematic results indicate that the prevalence of workplace incivility is a bothersome problem that should be addressed. A single item about the prevalence of workplace incivility seems to be a feasible indicator of associations to a wide range of health-, stress-, well-being-, and psychosocially oriented work-related variables.