Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the relationship between coworker incivility and job performance via emotional exhaustion, and the moderating effect of employee self-efficacy and compassion at work on the relationship.
Design/Methodology/Approach
Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, we hypothesized an indirect relationship between coworker incivility and job performance through emotional exhaustion. Also, we predicted that the positive relationship between coworker incivility and emotional exhaustion would be weaker for employees with high self-efficacy and compassion experience at work. Surveys were gathered at two time points, 3 months apart, from 217 frontline employees of a five-star hotel in South Korea.
Findings
The results indicated that coworker incivility was negatively related to job performance and that the link was fully mediated by emotional exhaustion. Employees’ self-efficacy buffered the negative outcomes of coworker incivility, whereas experienced compassion at work did not moderate the relationship between coworker incivility and emotional exhaustion.
Implications
This study advances understanding of the negative consequences of coworker incivility and the ways to attenuate such negative effects. We suggested emotional exhaustion as a key psychological mechanism and revealed self-efficacy belief as a boundary condition related to coworker incivility.
Originality/Value
With a focus on emotional exhaustion, this study addresses the call for a better understanding of the psychological mechanism involved in workplace incivility. Also, we discovered the role that personal resources play in mitigating the negative effects of coworker incivility. Finally, we extend the literature by theorizing the boundary conditions of coworker incivility using the JD-R approach.
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Notes
We conducted a mediated moderation analysis with compassion at work as a single moderator, excluding job-related self-efficacy. The single moderation effect of compassion at work was marginally significant (b = .17, p < .10).
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government(NRF-2014S1A5A2A03066047) and by 2014 Hongik University Research Fund.
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Rhee, SY., Hur, WM. & Kim, M. The Relationship of Coworker Incivility to Job Performance and the Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy and Compassion at Work: The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Approach. J Bus Psychol 32, 711–726 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9469-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9469-2