Individual differences, job demands and job resources as boundary conditions for relations between experienced incivility and forms of instigated incivility

Abstract

Purpose Using the job–demands resources model as a guide, this study aims to expand the understanding of the boundary conditions of the relation between experienced incivility and instigated incivility. The authors do so by focusing on the unique forms of instigated incivility: hostility, gossip, exclusionary behavior and privacy invasion. Drawing from past research, the authors focus on the personal resources of agreeableness and conscientiousness as individual difference boundary conditions, and the job demands and resources of workload and perceived emotional social support, respectively, as job-related boundary conditions. Design/methodology/approach The authors test their hypotheses using two-wave survey data collected from 192 customer service workers and hierarchical moderated multiple regression. Findings Analyses reveal that the relation between experienced incivility and gossip, a distinct type of instigated incivility, is stronger for those who are higher in agreeableness and perceived emotional social support, and weaker for those who report experiencing higher levels of workload. Originality/value This research advances knowledge on incivility by focusing on unique forms of instigated incivility, as opposed to instigated incivility broadly, as outcomes of experienced incivility. In doing so, this research adds nuance to recent findings surrounding the moderating role of personality in the experienced incivility and instigated incivility relation. The authors also report novel findings surrounding the influence of key job demands and resources.