Perceived workplace incivility and psychological well-being in higher education teachers: a multigroup analysis

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-03-2021-0048
• Published date: 27 September 2022
• Date: 27 September 2022
• Pages: 20-37
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Healthcare management,HR & organizational behaviour,Human resource policy,Employee welfare
• Author: Sarita Sood,Dhanvir Kour

Perceived workplace incivility

and psychological well-being

in higher education teachers:

a multigroup analysis

Sarita Sood and Dhanvir Kour

Department of Psychology, University of Jammu, Jammu, India

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this study was to investigate theimpact of perceived workplace incivility (WPI) on

psychological well-being (PWB) in teachers of higher education and to test for the moderating role of gender

and organizational tenure on the relationship between perceived WPI and PWB.

Design/methodology/approach –Data were collected from teachers (N5341) employed in government

and private colleges through convenience sampling. A structural equation modeling technique was used for

model testing.

Findings –Results showed a moderate level of perceived WPI by teachers from their colleagues or

supervisors. Perceived WPI had a negative impact on PWB. Sixteen percent of the variance in PWB was

explained by perceived WPI. Further, the multigroup analysis showed gender to moderate the relationship

between perceived WPI and PWB, and this relationship was stronger for males than females. Organizational

tenure was not a significant moderator.

Research limitations/implications –These findings expand the literature on perceived WPI and suggest

that stringent policies are essential in academia to minimize the incidence of WPI. Additionally, interventions

are to be introduced to mitigate the negative outcomes of WPI both at theindividual and organizational levels.

Originality/value –The study explores the role of demographic variables (gender and organizational tenure)

in the relationship between perceived WPI and PWB in teachers. The empirical evidence suggests higher

perceived WPI in male teachers leading to lower PWB. The organizational tenure of an employee shows no

influence on the assessment of the stressor.

Keywords Gender, Academia, Workplace incivility, Psychological well-being, Teachers,

Organizational tenure

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Mistreatment in the workplace is a commonplace phenomenon giving rise to a plethora of

negative outcomes (Cortina et al., 2017). Different forms of mistreatment take place in the

organizations (Robinson et al., 2014) such as harassment, bullying, incivility, ostracism,

abusive supervision, etc. Workplace incivility (WPI), characterized by low intensity and

ambiguous intent to harm (Leiter et al., 2015), is a general form of mistreatment commonly

experienced at workplaces (Cortina et al., 2001). Owing to its covert nature and mild form,

WPI has a higher frequency (Pearson et al., 2000;Lim and Lee, 2011;Yeung and Griffin, 2008).

Unfortunately, the incidents of WPI are continuously rising (Doshy and Wang, 2014).

Although lesser in severity, the literature suggests that WPI is detrimental to both

individuals’and organizations’health (Cortina et al., 2013) just as any other overt and

aggressive deviant behavior (Nielsen and Einarsen, 2012). Vickers (2006) and

Vagharseyyedin (2015) argued that the effect of WPI could be severe and should not be

ignored by considering it as a minor or subtle problem. Thus, understanding WPI is not only

important for individuals but also for organizations.

WPI exists in all work settings (Cortina et al., 2017;Schilpzand et al., 2016). It has a high

prevalence in academia (Keashly and Neuman, 2010;Twale and DeLuca, 2008). In a very

IJWHM

16,1

20

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1753-8351.htm

Received 1 March 2021

Revised 8 June 2021

15 March 2022

20 July 2022

Accepted 5 September 2022

InternationalJournal of Workplace

Health Management

Vol. 16 No. 1, 2023

pp. 20-37

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1753-8351

DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-03-2021-0048

recent study, Akella and Eid (2020) revealed that an uncivil workplace environment existed

rife with rudeness and condescending behaviors in academic institutions. In the teaching

profession, failure to handle interpersonal relations and communications appropriately result

in conflicts, discord, generation of feelings of jealousy, revenge, and anger (Hubert and Van

Veldhoven, 2001;McElveen et al., 2006). Withal, stressful work conditions make teaching

faculty increasingly prone to uncivil behaviors (Akella and Eid, 2020;Koon and Pun, 2018).

Various factors have been associated with the onset of work-related stress in teachers. Key

stressors among teachers include long work hours (Bannai et al., 2015), time pressure (Aldrup

et al., 2017), position in the workplace (Agai–Demjaha et al., 2015), job insecurity (De Sio et al.,

2018), heavy workload, work experience, and demographic factors (Kaur and Kumar, 2019).

Incivility experienced by the teaching faculty in higher educational institutions is a matter of

concern as it can make inroads in the teaching-learning environment (Natarajan et al., 2017).

McGee (2020) emphasized that incivility being consequential should not be accepted among

teachers in higher education.

There have been increasing calls for the exploration of WPI in different cultures,

demographics, and work settings (Akella and Eid, 2020;Ghosh, 2017;Schilpzand et al., 2016;

Welbourne et al., 2015). Earlier research papers have revealed that WPI is a prevalent

phenomenon studied extensively (Cortina et al., 2017) across various countries (Cortina et al.,

2001;Lim and Lee, 2011;Pearson and Porath, 2009). By now, only a handful of studies have

been conducted on WPI in India (Irum et al., 2020;Sharma and Singh, 2016). There is still a lot

of work required to understand WPI and its impact. Therefore, to further expand the

literature on incivility, this study tried to investigate the level of incivility perceived by

teachers in the higher education sector in India.

Previous studies have highlighted the salience of the well-being of an individual in the

workplace (Di Fabio, 2017). The PWB promotes positive work attitudes and outcomes

(Robertson et al., 2012). Moreover, it enhances job performance (Aryan and Kathuria, 2017).

Researchers have identified several antecedents of PWB such as employees’perception of

human resource practices (Baluch, 2017), learning and development practices (Rudolph and

Baltes, 2017), and perceived organizational support (Panaccio and Vandenberghe, 2009). This

study follows Ryff’s concept of psychological well-being (PWB) also called eudaimonic well-

being comprising of self-acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive relation

with others, autonomy, and personal growth (Ryff, 1989). PWB is the core element of overall

well-being and is connected to the physical health, mental health, and longevity of employees

(Aryan and Kathuria, 2017). Extant literature reveals that empirical research examining the

impact of WPI on PWB in educational settings and the role of demographic variables in this

relationship is minimal (Miner and Cortina, 2016), suggesting a gap for moderators.

With the above backdrop, the present study attempts to investigate the relationship

between perceived WPI on PWB of the teachers in colleges. Besides, this study also intends to

test the moderating effect of demographic variables (gender and organizational tenure) on

PWB. Therefore, the present study will help us understand the relationship between

perceived WPI and PWB with respect to gender and organizational tenure.

Theoretical background and hypotheses development

This study is underpinned by the transactional theory of stress and coping (TTSC, Lazarus,

1991;Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). The TTSC is a foundational framework for explaining

how negative events lead to diverse outcomes related to the individual and how an individual

responds to a stressor (Beattie and Griffin, 2014). Further, it proposes that stress develops as a

result of interaction between a person and the environment (Chris, 2019;Lazarus, 2000). As

such, on an encounter with a stressor, the appraisal determines the emotional and behavioral

outcome the individual experiences. If the individual appraises that a situation is stressful

Workplace

incivility

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