Supervisor and Coworker Incivility: Testing the Work Frustration-Aggression Model

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the association among situational constraints, emotional reactions, behavioral responses, and their distal outcomes in the workplace through two modified versions of the Fox-Spector (1999) work frustration-aggression model. Demographics (age, gender) and personality traits (emotional stability, thrill seeking), incivility, and two organizational outcomes (organizational commitment and employee satisfaction) were added to the original model. The paper-and-pencil survey battery, consisting of eight scales, was completed by 507 participants. Models were tested with path-analytic procedures. After controlling for the demographic and personality variables, situational constraints, frustration, and supervisor and coworker incivility predicted less organizational commitment and employee satisfaction. The frustration and incivility variables served as mediators between situational constraints and the dependent variables in the models. Human Resource Development (HRD) researchers and practitioners are provided with insights into incivility behavior where HRD leveraging can make a difference in organizational commitment and workplace satisfaction.

Keywords

incivility work frustration aggression

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anand, V. , Ashforth, B.E. , & Joshi, M. ( 2004). Business as usual: The acceptance and perpetuation of corruption in organizations. Academy of Management Executive , 18, 39-53.

Andersson, L.M. , & Pearson, C.M. ( 1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, 452-471.

Brehm, S.S. , & Brehm, J.W. ( 1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control . New York, NY: Academic Press.

Cortina, L.M. , Magley, V.J. , Williams, J.H. , & Langhout, R.D. (2001). Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , 6, 64-80.

Dollard, J. , Doob, L.W. , Miller, N.E. , Mowrer, O.H. , & Sears, R.R. ( 1939). Frustration and aggression. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. (2010, April). Physical and psychological violence at the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2010/54/en/1/EF1054EN.pdf

Fox, S. , & Spector, P.E. ( 1999). A model of work frustration-aggression. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 915-931.

Fox, S. , & Stallworth, L.E. (2010). The battered apple: An application of stress-emotioncontrol/support theory to teachers’ experience of violence and bullying. Human Relations, 63, 927-954.

Gosling, S.D. , Rentfrow, P.J. , & Swann, W.B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504-528.

10.

Hackman, J.R. , & Lawler, E.E. ( 1971). Employee reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph, 55, 259-286.

11.

Hershcovis, M.S. , & Barling, J. ( 2010). Towards a multi-foci approach to workplace aggression: A meta-analytic review of outcomes from different perpetrators. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 24-44.

12.

Hunter, M. ( 2010, May 7). Anatomical ridicule raises body-scanning concerns . CNN Travel, p. A2.

13.

Johnson, B. , Stevens, J.J. , & Zvoch, K. ( 2007). Teachers’ perceptions of school climate: A validity study of scores from the revised School Level Environment Questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 67, 833-844.

14.

Kline, R.B. ( 1998). The principles and practices of structural equations modeling. New York, NY: Guilford .

15.

Lim, V.K. , & Teo, T. S. H. (2009). Mind your e-manners: Impact of cyber incivility on employees’ work attitude and behavior. Information & Management, 46, 419-425.

16.

Mowday, R.T. , Steers, R.M. , & Porter, L.W. ( 1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224-247.

17.

Neuman, J.H. , & Baron, R.A. ( 1998). Workplace violence and workplace aggression: Evidence concerning specific forms, potential causes, and preferred targets. Journal of Management, 24, 391-419.

18.

Porath, C.L. , & Erez, A. ( 2007). Does rudeness really matter? The effects of rudeness on task performance and helpfulness. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1181-1197.

19.

Porath, C.L. , & Pearson, C.M. ( 2010). The cost of bad behavior. Organizational Dynamics, 39, 64-71.

20.

Reio, T.G., Jr. , & Ghosh, R. ( 2009). Antecedents and outcomes of workplace incivility: Implications for research and practice. Human Resource Development Quarterly , 20, 237-264.

21.

Swett, B. , Marcus, R.F. , & Reio, T.G., Jr. (2005). An introduction to "fight-seeking," and its role in peer-to-peer violence on college campuses. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 953-962.

22.

Tabachnick, B.G. , & Fidell, L.S. ( 2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

23.

Weiss, H.M. , & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. In B. M. Staw & L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (pp. 1-74). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

24.

Yeung, A. , & Griffin, B. ( 2008). Workplace incivility: Does it matter in Asia? People & Strategy, 31, 14-19.

25.

Zuckerman, M. ( 1994). Behavioral expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.