The influence of workload and incivility level on the perception and perpetration of e-mail incivility

Abstract

Workplace incivility consists of rude and discourteous behaviours that demonstrate a lack of regard for others (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). The detection of negative consequences associated with experiencing incivility has led to the development of a theoretical model of the process of workplace incivility perception and perpetration (Andersson & Pearson, 1999), in addition to the identification of potential individual and situational influences on this process, including level of workload (Buhler, 2003).

I used an experimental design to investigate the influence of workload and experiencing varying levels of incivility on the perception and perpetration of incivility in a simulated office setting. In the study 172 undergraduates were randomly assigned to either high or low workload conditions and completed a series of in-basket tasks. Workload was manipulated by assigning more in-basket tasks to those in the high workload condition. One task in all the in-baskets involved responding to two email messages, one civil and one uncivil, resulting in a 2 (workload) x 2 (civility of the stimulus email) mixed repeated measures design. The dependent measures of interest were the perception (self-rated) and perpetration (self and other rated) of incivility in the e-mail response task, and the instigation of incivility (self and other rated) in an additional e-mail that the participant was asked to draft.

I expected that participants would respond with more incivility to uncivil than to civil e-mails, and that individuals under high workload would perceive and perpetrate more incivility than participants under low workload. I also expected that workload would interact with e-mail incivility condition to influence the level of incivility in participants' responses, such that the effect of the initial level of incivility on the perpetration of incivility would be stronger at the higher workload level (i.e., the interaction would be driven primarily by the larger disparity in responses to the civil and uncivil e-mails in the high workload condition). Finally, I also predicted that perceptions of intent accompanying incivility would predict both increased perception and perpetration of incivility, and that participants would rate the e-mails they wrote as being less uncivil than would independent raters. Mixed repeated measures ANOVA and regression analyses supported all of these hypotheses, with two exceptions: level of workload did not affect the level of incivility perceived by participants, and perceptions of intent did not predict either the perception or perpetration of incivility. These results are discussed in the context of the relative strengths and limitations of the study, and implications and potential directions for future research are outlined.