Beyond targets and instigators: Examining workplace incivility in dyads and the moderating role of perceived incivility norms.

Abstract

In the 2 decades since Andersson and Pearson (Academy of Management Review, 24, 452, 1999) suggested workplace incivility occurs in dyadic relationships between two employees, research has only studied incivility from the perspective of either the target or the instigator. In doing so, it implicitly treats experienced and instigated incivility as though they solely reflect (viz., dispositional and situational) characteristics of targets and instigators, ignoring that incivility is also attributable to the unique relationship between dyad members. The present study draws on the norm of reciprocity to examine workplace incivility in dyadic relationships and how it differs across individuals. Using dyads as the unit of analysis, we test our predictions among employees at a U.S. restaurant chain (Sample 1); a technology manufacturer in China (Sample 2); and across a range of industries, organizations, and jobs in the U.S. (Sample 3). We find that experienced and instigated incivility exhibit substantial variation at the dyad level, that the two are related within dyads after accounting for individuals' general tendencies to experience and instigate incivility, and that the within-dyad association between experienced and instigated incivility is moderated by perceived descriptive and injunctive norms regarding uncivil behavior. Implications and future research directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).