Sybil Geldart, Lacey Langlois, Harry S. Shannon, Lilia M. Cortina, Lauren Griffith and Ted Haines
Previous in-depth focus groups found that postal workers employed by a crown corporation in Canada identified a lack of respect in the workplace. A lack of respect or discourteous…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous in-depth focus groups found that postal workers employed by a crown corporation in Canada identified a lack of respect in the workplace. A lack of respect or discourteous behavior might be better understood as a phenomenon of workplace incivility. The purpose of this paper is to report a larger cross-sectional survey to determine: the magnitude of workplace incivility among Canadian postal workers; any association between incivility and indicators of worker well-being; and, the potential buffering benefits of social support from co-workers.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire packages were mailed to nearly 2,000 employees of Canada Post Corporation, asking for anonymous responses to questions about their job, demographics, satisfaction and commitment, treatment in the workplace, and well-being.
Findings
More than 82 percent of 950 respondents reported at least some workplace incivility. After controlling for demographic and work factors, incivility explained significant variation in worker burnout, anxiety, depression, and hostility (i.e. adjusted R2 values ranged from 5 to 46). In addition, the association between incivility and worker anxiety, depression, and hostility was reduced when workers reported greater social support from co-workers.
Research limitations/implications
Incivility is more than just a minor or infrequent source of psychological distress for people working in service. However, a positive outcome is that co-worker support helps reduce the adverse effects of rude and discourteous behavior.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this was the first large-scale survey exploring workplace incivility in the public postal service. The data from a large sample of postal workers across Canada suggest that the treatment of employees is an ongoing problem at this organization. This research is relevant for understanding workplace interactions and health in the service sector in Canada, though the authors expect it is germane also to other occupations worldwide.
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Dana Kabat-Farr, Isis H. Settles and Lilia M. Cortina
This article serves as an introduction to four articles featured in a special issue on selective incivility in the workplace. This collection of papers addresses pressing issues…
Abstract
Purpose
This article serves as an introduction to four articles featured in a special issue on selective incivility in the workplace. This collection of papers addresses pressing issues around unpacking and tackling selective incivility in organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This introductory article first highlights research in this area to date, provides a summary of the papers included in this special issue and ends with intriguing themes from the papers and ways in which they advance the field.
Findings
These papers reveal contextual factors that help us better understand selective incivility: group processes, workplace gender composition, status and power and modality (in-person or online incivility).
Originality/value
By bringing together four approaches to studying selective incivility, this special issue pushes the field forward, providing empirically based insights as well as compelling new research directions.
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Kathrina Robotham and Lilia Cortina
Despite organizational policies aimed at harassment prevention, harassment based on gender and ethnicity remains pervasive in places of work. Although previous research has…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite organizational policies aimed at harassment prevention, harassment based on gender and ethnicity remains pervasive in places of work. Although previous research has identified other antecedents such as harassment climate, the purpose of this paper is to consider whether a climate of respect leads to reductions in identity-based harassment.
Design/methodology/approach
In a military sample of active duty men and women (Study 1) and a sample of working adults (Study 2), the authors use survey methods to test whether a climate of respect predicts the occurrence of two forms of identity-based abuse: sexual harassment (Study 1) and ethnic harassment (Study 2).
Findings
The authors find that a climate of respect uniquely predicts harassment based on sex and ethnicity, above and beyond effects of climate for harassment.
Originality/value
These results suggest that, while traditional harassment prevention efforts remain important for deterring identity-based harassment, promotion of a respectful work environment is also an effective tool.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the harassment of vulnerable women whose lives and experiences remain largely unseen in the era of #MeToo.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the harassment of vulnerable women whose lives and experiences remain largely unseen in the era of #MeToo.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from the sparse empirical literature as well as the more informal accounts provided by social justice organizations, investigative journalists and legal commentary about four spheres that have largely remained invisible: women in low-income housing, agricultural workers, janitorial workers and restaurant workers. It also reviews the surprising success stories that some of these groups have achieved and invite us to ponder what we can learn from them.
Findings
Farm workers, sub-minimum wage restaurant workers, single mothers and janitorial workers are several groups that were not highlighted by the current movement.
Social implications
Highlighting the experiences of those who remain largely hidden in and from academic discourse and, more largely, the public eye enlarges the scope of knowledge and encourages further scholarly inquiry.
Originality/value
Combining the perspectives of scholar and social justice activist illuminates the depth and breadth of largely invisible classes of harassment victims and the potentially novel remedies they have initiated.