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Workplace Incivility and Employees’ Personal Initiative: A Moderated Mediation Model of Emotional Exhaustion and Meaningful Work

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  • Wenjing Gui
  • Qiyu Bai
  • Lei Wang

Abstract

Workplace incivility has many negative effects, but its impact on personal initiative and related mechanisms are still unclear. Drawing from conservation of resource theory, we tested the relationship between workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion, meaningful work, and personal initiative. The results from three-wave lagged and multisource data ( N  = 229) indicated that workplace incivility was negatively correlated with personal initiative, and this relationship was mediated by emotional exhaustion. In addition, meaningful work attenuated the relationship between workplace incivility and personal initiative. The findings reveal that workplace incivility hurts employees’ personal initiative in the organizational context by depleting individuals’ emotional resources, leading to emotional exhaustion, while meaningful work is a critical cognitive resource that can buffer this relationship. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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  • Wenjing Gui & Qiyu Bai & Lei Wang, 2022. "Workplace Incivility and Employees’ Personal Initiative: A Moderated Mediation Model of Emotional Exhaustion and Meaningful Work," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440221079899
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440221079899
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Umair Ahmed & Abdul Halim Abdul Majid & Md Lazim Mohd Zin, 2016. "Meaningful Work and Work Engagement: A Relationship Demanding Urgent Attention," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(8), pages 116-122, August.
    2. Jessica Van Wingerden & Joost Van der Stoep, 2018. "The motivational potential of meaningful work: Relationships with strengths use, work engagement, and performance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-11, June.
    3. Michael Kosfeld & Susanne Neckermann & Xiaolan Yang, 2017. "The Effects Of Financial And Recognition Incentives Across Work Contexts: The Role Of Meaning," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(1), pages 237-247, January.
    4. Porath, Christine L. & Erez, Amir, 2009. "Overlooked but not untouched: How rudeness reduces onlookers' performance on routine and creative tasks," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 29-44, May.
    5. Ju Guo & Yanjun Qiu & Yongtao Gan, 2022. "Workplace incivility and work engagement: The mediating role of job insecurity and the moderating role of self‐perceived employability," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 192-205, January.
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    1. Güleryüz, İlkay & Sürücü, Lütfi & Yikilmaz, İbrahim, 2023. "The Role of Job Stress in the Effect of Workplace Incivility on Organizational Commitment [İşyeri nezaketsizliğinin örgütsel bağlılığa etkisinde İş stresinin rolü]," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(2), pages 525-542.
    2. Sobia Nasir & Muhammad Azam Roomi & Nadia Nasir & Waqas Khan & Muhammad Rashid, 2023. "Confrontation and Avoidance of Uncivil Behaviors in the Workplace: Empirical Evidence From the Tourism Industry," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.

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