Abstract
Workplace incivility is low-intensity, nonspecific, discourteous behavior towards others and may negatively affect employee and organizational outcomes. This exploratory study sought to examine the prevalence of and factors related to experiencing several different types of workplace incivility using a national sample of Health Administration full-time faculty members in the United States. We found that 27–36% of respondents have experienced at least one type of uncivil behavior from students, coworkers, or supervisors. Further, 4–9% of faculty respondents experience such incidents frequently. Faculty respondents who experienced workplace incivility were significantly more likely to report lower job satisfaction and indicated an intention to leave their position within the next three years. Academic leaders should work to foster an environment where incivility towards others is actively discouraged, as it may contribute to dissatisfaction and turnover.
INTRODUCTION
Workplace incivility is low-intensity, nonspecific, and nonphysical behaviors that are discourteous and disrespectful to others (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). While some believe incivility is trivial or even harmless in the workplace, an increasing amount of research suggests that generalized disrespect towards others has a negative impact on employees and organizations (Porath & Pearson, 2013; Torkelson, Holm, Bäckström, & Schad, 2016). Importantly, incivility is more subtle and more prevalent (Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001) than other forms of workplace harassment, including sexual harassment (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2018).
Incivility is associated with negative occupational well-being, especially if the incivility is chronically sustained for weeks, months, or longer (Cortina et al., 2001; Zurbrügg & Miner, 2016). Moreover, incivility is negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively associated with turnover (Cortina et al., 2001). Demographic characteristics associated with experiencing acts of incivility include female gender (Cortina, 2008; Cortina, Kabat-Farr, Leskinen, Huerta, & Magley, 2013; Richman et al., 1999), minority race (Cortina, 2008; Cortina et al., 2013) and being younger (Lim & Lee, 2011) or older (Einarsen & Raknes, 1997) than average. Most of the research on workplace incivility has occurred in settings such as the federal court system (L. M. Cortina et al., 2001), city government including law enforcement (Cortina et al., 2013), the US Military (Cortina et al., 2013), or the nursing profession (Graydon, Kasta, & Khan, 1994). Less research has focused on incivility in the academic workplace, with prior work limited to evaluations of nursing faculty members (Peters, 2014) or single university studies (Graydon et al., 1994; Richman et al., 1999). Incivility within nursing education has been found to be negatively associated with well-being (Luparell, 2007; Muliira, Natarajan, & van der Colff, 2017; Peters, 2014; Vuolo, 2017), but this relationship has not been studied among faculty members of other professions.
Therefore, the purpose of the current paper is to examine the prevalence of, and factors related to, workplace incivility among Health Administration (HA) faculty members in the US. Our work utilizes recent national survey data to examine this issue in a single academic field that is housed in multiple school types (e.g., public health, business, health professions) across universities in the US. Thus, we are able to examine whether experiences of incivility differ by gender, race, age, and school of employment. Moreover, we explore how reports of experiencing incivility is associated with career satisfaction, job satisfaction, and intention to leave the job. This information will be of interest to faculty members, supervisors, and administrators in academic settings since workplace incivility has the potential to negatively affect faculty well-being and increase turnover.
METHODS
Survey Tool
Since 2009, full-time faculty members in the field of HA have been periodically surveyed by Menachemi et al. to assess correlates of salary (Menachemi, Morrisey, Cawley, & Ginter, 2009) productivity (Morrisey, Menachemi, Cawley, & Ginter, 2010), job responsibilities (Menachemi, Morrisey, Au, & Ginter, 2009), and other perceptions about their employment (Ginter, Menachemi, & Morrisey, 2009). In 2018, several questions about incivility in the workplace were added to the survey; and the cross-sectional data from the 2018 survey are the focus of the current study. A full description of the repeated national survey of HA faculty is available elsewhere (Menachemi, 2016); here we report an abridged description of the data collection effort.
Sample inclusion criteria
In 2018, as previously, participants surveyed included all full-time faculty members at the rank of instructor, assistant, associate, and full professor at all US programs affiliated with the Association of University Programs of Health Administration (AUPHA). In addition, we identified all academic members (e.g., those with a .edu email address) of the Academy of Management’s Health Care Management Division and added non-duplicated individuals to the survey list. Participants were invited to complete the survey anonymously via Survey Monkey® during the entire month of February 2018. No identifiable or tracking information was obtained; thus, responses are not linkable to participants’ names or email addresses. Approval for human subjects research was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Indiana University.
Survey measures
Examples of incivility include saying something hurtful to someone at work (Reio & Ghosh, 2009) and/or making condescending or demeaning comments (Estes & Wang, 2008). Since there are no established criteria for measuring incivility, we developed questions regarding experiences of incivility tailored to the academic setting with input from departmental colleagues. Respondents were asked to report the frequency of the following experiences.
A student has commented on your physical appearance (e.g., your body or clothing) in a way that made you feel uncomfortable.
A co-worker has commented on your physical appearance (e.g., your body or clothing) in a way that made you feel uncomfortable.
A co-worker has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities (e.g., family planning or caregiving).
A supervisor has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities.
Response choices included: never; very rarely (e.g., less than every 5 years); rarely (e.g., every 2–5 years); occasionally (e.g., every year); and frequently (e.g., every semester). Separately, the survey asked respondents to indicate on a five-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) whether they believed “that senior leadership at their institution would respond appropriately” to each of the four above acts of incivility. To analyze each of the four acts of incivility in our survey, we created two dichotomous variables that indicated whether a faculty respondent had EVER (i.e., very rarely, rarely, occasionally, or frequently) or OFTEN had the experience (i.e., occasionally or frequently). We also collapsed responses to the senior leadership response question into three categories: disagree (i.e., strongly disagree or disagree), unsure (i.e., unsure), and agree (i.e., agree or strongly agree).
To measure satisfaction and intention to leave their employment, survey respondents were asked to report their level of agreement, on a five-point Likert scale (from strongly disagree to strongly agree) with the following statements.
Overall, I am satisfied with my current employment.
Overall, I am satisfied with my career choice.
There is a greater than 50% chance that I will be employed by another university within 3 years.
To facilitate analyses, we collapsed responses to these statements into binary categories: yes (i.e., strongly agree and agree”) or other (i.e., don’t know, disagree, and strongly disagree). Faculty demographic and descriptive characteristics included gender (male, female, other/unknown), race (White, Black or African American, Asian, other/unknown), age categories (those in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s and above), and school of employment (public health, health professions, business, medicine, and other/unknown).
Data analysis
We first examined frequencies and other descriptive statistics for each variable of interest. Next, using Chi-Square or Fisher Exact tests as appropriate, we examined the bivariate relationships between EVER experiencing each act of incivility and each faculty characteristic, and between OFTEN experiencing each act of incivility and each faculty characteristic. Using logistic regression, we estimated the relationship between EVER experiencing an incivility and our measures of current employment satisfaction, career satisfaction, and intention to leave the position. Similarly, we then estimated the relationship between OFTEN experiencing an incivility and current employment satisfaction, career satisfaction, and intention to leave the position within the next three years. In each of the regression models, we controlled for age and gender based on their significant bivariate relationship to any of the three outcomes. We also explored interactions between gender, race, and age, but excluded them from our findings because none of the interactions were significantly related to any of the outcomes.
Lastly, we examined how the cumulative number of distinct acts of incivility, among the four we inquired about, were related to our measures of employment satisfaction, career satisfaction, and intention to leave one’s current position. Specifically, individuals were categorized as having EVER experienced 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 acts based on their responses to the four survey items. Further, individuals were categorized as having OFTEN experienced 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 acts based on their responses to the four survey items. Using logistic regression, we estimated the relationships between number of distinct acts of incivilities experienced and employment satisfaction, career satisfaction, and intention to leave the position, while holding gender and age constant. All analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS Version 24 and statistical significance was flagged at the p<0.01, p<0.05, and p<0.10 levels.
RESULTS
Of the 1,502 faculty members who were surveyed, a total of 637 individuals responded representing a 42.4% response rate. Given the differential response rate by question, the current study focuses upon 584 respondents (see Table 1) who answered the incivility questions. Briefly, the majority were male (51%), and/or White (65%). Those aged 60 years or greater represented the largest age group (39%), and the most frequent school of employment was public health (30%), followed by health professions (25%).
Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of Health Administration faculty (n=584)
| Variable | n (%) |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Gender | |
| Male | 236 (40.4) |
| Female | 226 (38.7) |
| Other or unknown1 | 122 (20.9) |
|
| |
| Race | |
| White | 379 (64.9) |
| Black or African American | 45 (7.7) |
| Asian | 34 (5.8) |
| Other or unknown | 126 (21.6) |
|
| |
| Age2 | |
| 20s and 30s | 53 (9.1) |
| 40s | 104 (17.8) |
| 50s | 100 (17.1) |
| 60s and over | 161 (27.6) |
| Unknown | 166 (28.4) |
|
| |
| School of Employment | |
| Public Health | 174 (29.8) |
| Health Professions | 146 (25.0) |
| Business | 110 (18.8) |
| Medicine | 25 (4.3) |
| Other or unknown | 129 (22.1) |
Includes (n=2) who indicated gender as ″other″
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes
When analyzing the prevalence of having EVER experienced a select act of incivility (see Tables 2a–d), the most common type was having a coworker make you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding physical appearance (32.6%), followed by uncomfortable coworker comments regarding family responsibilities (31.5%), and by a supervisor’s uncomfortable comments about family responsibilities (29.1%). Respondents reported EVER experiencing an uncomfortable student comment about physical appearance least often (27.3%).
Tables 2a-d.
Bivariate relationships between EVER experiencing an act of incivility and select faculty characteristics (n=487)
| 2a: A student has commented on your physical appearance in a way that made you feel uncomfortable1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 133 (27.3) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | .004 | |
| Male | 48 (20.4) | |
| Female | 72 (32.3) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .110 | |
| White | 94 (24.9) | |
| Black | 16 (35.6) | |
| Asian | 10 (29.4) | |
| Other/unknown | 13 (41.9) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | .071 | |
| 20s and 30s | 17 (32.1) | |
| 40s | 34 (33.0) | |
| 50s | 24 (24.0) | |
| 60s and up | 32 (19.9) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .293 | |
| Public Health | 50 (31.8) | |
| Health Professions | 32 (24.8) | |
| Business | 29 (30.5) | |
| Medicine | 5 (23.8) | |
| Other/unknown | 17 (20.0) | |
| 2b: A co-worker has commented on your physical appearance in a way that made you feel uncomfortable1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 159 (32.6) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 51 (21.8) | |
| Female | 97 (43.5) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .549 | |
| White | 119 (31.6) | |
| Black | 19 (42.2) | |
| Asian | 11 (33.3) | |
| Other/unknown | 10 (31.3) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | <.001 | |
| 20s and 30s | 22 (41.5) | |
| 40s | 44 (43.1) | |
| 50s | 33 (33.0) | |
| 60s and up | 31 (19.3) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .147 | |
| Public Health | 58 (36.9) | |
| Health Professions | 41 (31.8) | |
| Business | 27 (28.7) | |
| Medicine | 11 (50.0) | |
| Other/unknown | 22 (25.9) | |
| 2c: A co-worker has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 153 (31.5) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 48 (20.4) | |
| Female | 96 (43.0) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .947 | |
| White | 117 (31.0) | |
| Black | 15 (33.3) | |
| Asian | 12 (35.3) | |
| Other/unknown | 9 (30.0) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | <.001 | |
| 20s and 30s | 26 (49.1) | |
| 40s | 48 (46.6) | |
| 50s | 32 (32.0) | |
| 60s and up | 23 (14.3) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .069 | |
| Public Health | 59 (37.8) | |
| Health Professions | 32 (24.8) | |
| Business | 28 (29.5) | |
| Medicine | 10 (47.6) | |
| Other/unknown | 24 (28.2) | |
| 2d: A supervisor has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 141 (29.1) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 34 (14.5) | |
| Female | 98 (43.9) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .829 | |
| White | 107 (28.4) | |
| Black | 15 (34.1) | |
| Asian | 11 (32.4) | |
| Other/unknown | 8 (26.7) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | <.001 | |
| 20s and 30s | 18 (34.0) | |
| 40s | 47 (45.6) | |
| 50s | 25 (25.0) | |
| 60s and up | 25 (15.5) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .032 | |
| Public Health | 55 (35.3) | |
| Health Professions | 36 (28.1) | |
| Business | 21 (22.1) | |
| Medicine | 10 (47.6) | |
| Other/unknown | 19 (22.4) | |
Notes: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have EVER experienced each incident were those that selected ″frequently″, ″occasionally″, ″rarely″, or ″very rarely″
Not all respondents reported gender
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes.
In all cases, females were more likely than males to report each of these types of incivility experiences (all p-values <0.01). Moreover, age was associated with incivility such that those in their 40s or younger were more likely than other age groups to report incivility from their coworkers or supervisors. Faculty members employed within schools of medicine were significantly more likely than those employed in other schools to report that a supervisor made them feel uncomfortable with comments regarding their family responsibilities (p=.032). No differences were observed by race.
When analyzing the frequency of having OFTEN experienced a select type of incivility (see Tables 3a-d), the most common types were uncomfortable coworker comments about family responsibilities (8.8%) or uncomfortable coworker comments about physical appearance (8.2%). Supervisor’s uncomfortable comments about family responsibilities (7.6%) and uncomfortable student comments about physical appearance (3.7%) were less common. However, in all cases, females were significantly more likely than males to report experiencing each of the four acts of incivility (all p-values <0.05). Age was significantly related to OFTEN experiencing uncivil comments about family responsibilities from coworkers (p<0.001) and supervisors (p=0.012), with respondents in their 20s or 30s reporting the highest rates. No differences were observed by race or by school of employment.
Tables 3a-d.
Bivariate relationships between experiencing an incident of incivility OFTEN and select faculty characteristics
| 3a: A student has commented on your physical appearance in a way that made you feel uncomfortable1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 18 (3.7) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | .020 | |
| Male | 4 (1.7) | |
| Female | 13 (5.8) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .600 | |
| White | 12 (3.2) | |
| Black | 3 (6.7) | |
| Asian | 2 (5.9) | |
| Other/unknown | 1 (3.2) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | .186 | |
| 20s and 30s | 3 (5.7) | |
| 40s | 7 (6.8) | |
| 50s | 3 (3.0) | |
| 60s and up | 3 (1.9) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .513 | |
| Public Health | 9 (5.7) | |
| Health Professions | 4 (3.1) | |
| Business | 3 (3.2) | |
| Medicine | 0 (0.0) | |
| Other/unknown | 2 (2.4) | |
| 3b: A co-worker has commented on your physical appearance in a way that made you feel uncomfortable1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 40 (8.2) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 8 (3.4) | |
| Female | 28 (12.6) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .804 | |
| White | 30 (8.0) | |
| Black | 3 (6.7) | |
| Asian | 3 (9.1) | |
| Other/unknown | 4 (12.5) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | .698 | |
| 20s and 30s | 5 (9.4) | |
| 40s | 9 (8.8) | |
| 50s | 8 (8.0) | |
| 60s and up | 9 (5.6) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .656 | |
| Public Health | 13 (8.3) | |
| Health Professions | 8 (6.2) | |
| Business | 10 (10.6) | |
| Medicine | 3 (13.6) | |
| Other/unknown | 6 (7.1) | |
| 3c: A co-worker has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 43 (8.8) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 7 (3.0) | |
| Female | 35 (15.7) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .445 | |
| White | 32 (8.5) | |
| Black | 6 (13.3) | |
| Asian | 4 (11.8) | |
| Other/unknown | 1 (3.3) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | <.001 | |
| 20s and 30s | 12 (22.6) | |
| 40s | 14 (13.6) | |
| 50s | 2 (2.0) | |
| 60s and up | 6 (3.7) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .244 | |
| Public Health | 20 (12.8) | |
| Health Professions | 9 (7.0) | |
| Business | 8 (8.4) | |
| Medicine | 2 (9.5) | |
| Other/unknown | 2 (9.5) | |
| 3d: A supervisor has made you feel uncomfortable with comments regarding your family responsibilities1 | ||
|
| ||
| Faculty characteristics | Frequency (%) | p-value |
|
| ||
| Overall | 37 (7.6) | |
|
| ||
| Gender2 | <.001 | |
| Male | 8 (3.4) | |
| Female | 28 (12.6) | |
|
| ||
| Race | .225 | |
| White | 26 (6.9) | |
| Black | 5 (11.4) | |
| Asian | 5 (14.7) | |
| Other/unknown | 1 (3.3) | |
|
| ||
| Age3 | .012 | |
| 20s and 30s | 8 (15.1) | |
| 40s | 10 (9.7) | |
| 50s | 4 (4.0) | |
| 60s and up | 6 (3.7) | |
|
| ||
| School of employment | .385 | |
| Public Health | 15 (9.6) | |
| Health Professions | 7 (5.5) | |
| Business | 8 (8.4) | |
| Medicine | 3 (14.3) | |
| Other/unknown | 4 (4.7) | |
Notes: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have experienced each incident OFTEN were those that selected ″frequently″, ″occasionally″
Not all respondents reported gender
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes.
In regression analyses, having EVER experienced (see Table 4a) an uncomfortable comment from a supervisor regarding family responsibilities was negatively associated with current job satisfaction (p=0.016) and positively associated with an individual’s intent to leave their current position within three years (p=0.031). Having EVER experienced comments of incivility from students, coworkers, and supervisor was not associated with respondent’s career satisfaction. However, OFTEN experiencing (see Table 4b) uncomfortable comments from a coworker regarding family responsibilities was negatively associated with career satisfaction (p=0.027); and OFTEN experiencing uncomfortable comments about family responsibilities from supervisors was positively, albeit marginally, associated with an individual’s intention to leave their current job within three years (p=0.091).
Table 4a.
Adjusted relationship between incivility experiences and measures of satisfaction and intention to leave current employment: EVER1
| Faculty characteristics | Satisfied with current employment | Plan to be employed by another university within 3 years | Satisfied with career choice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| B (SE) | B (SE) | B (SE) | |
|
| |||
| Female gender | −.094 (.284) | −.126 (.267) | −.432 (.500) |
|
| |||
| Age2 | |||
| 20s-30s | −.302 (.408) | 1.355 (.412)*** | −.670 (.701) |
| 40s | .331 (.359) | 1.147 (.353)*** | −.508 (.605) |
| 50s | .245 (.362) | 1.076 (.352)*** | −.007 (.670) |
| 60s+ | Reference | Reference | Reference |
|
| |||
| Incivility experience | |||
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a student regarding your physical appearance | .034 (.345) | .251 (.333) | −.430 (.584) |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a coworker regarding you physical appearance | −.057 (.353) | −.553 (.345) | .527 (.613) |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a coworker regarding your family responsibilities | −.152 (.423) | −.145 (.396) | .535 (.728) |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a supervisor regarding your family responsibilities | −1.029 (.250)** | .882 (.409)** | −.927 (.721) |
NOTES: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have EVER experienced each incident were those that selected ″frequently″, ″occasionally″, ″rarely″, or ″very rarely″
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes
p-value <0.10
p-value<0.05
p-value<0.01
Table 4b.
Adjusted relationship between incivility experiences and measures of satisfaction and intention to leave current employment: OFTEN1
| Faculty characteristics | Satisfied with current employment | Plan to be employed by another university within 3 years | Satisfied with career choice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| B (SE) | B (SE) | B (SE) | |
|
| |||
| Female gender | −.259 (.275) | −.133 (.263) | −.469 (.492) |
|
| |||
| Age2 | |||
| 20s-30s | −.361 (.398) | 1.197 (.410)*** | −.377 (.712) |
| 40s | .073 (.345) | 1.172 (.345)*** | −.438 (.596) |
| 50s | .122 (.353) | 1.095 (.349)*** | .024 (.669) |
| 60s+ | Reference | Reference | Reference |
|
| |||
| Incivility experience | |||
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a student regarding your physical appearance | −.439 (.660) | −.249 (.700) | 19.41 (2.7 × 108) |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a coworker regarding you physical appearance | −.643 (.490) | .135 (.506) | .673 (1.141) |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a coworker regarding your family responsibilities | −.594 (.648) | .401 (.618) | −2.055 (.927)** |
| Experienced uncomfortable comment from a supervisor regarding your family responsibilities | .052 (.648) | .986 (.583)* | 1.235 (1.116) |
NOTES: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have experienced each incident OFTEN were those that selected ″frequently″ or ″occasionally″
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes
p-value <0.10
p-value <0.05
p-value <0.01
We found that the cumulative number of distinct types of uncivil acts was negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively associated with intention to leave current employment (Tables 5a & b).
Table 5a.
Adjusted relationship between the number of reported incivility experiences with measures of satisfaction and intention to leave current employment: EVER1
| Faculty characteristics | Satisfied with current employment | Plan to be employed by another university within 3 years | Satisfied with career choice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Female gender | −.167 (.279) | −.089 (.263) | −.536 (.492) |
|
| |||
| Age2 | |||
| 20s-30s | −.240 (.401) | 1.288 (.406)*** | −.597 (.691) |
| 40s | .324 (.357) | 1.103 (.352)*** | −.524 (.604) |
| 50s | .279 (.358) | 1.008 (.349)*** | .053 (.667) |
|
| |||
| Number of incivility experiences reported | |||
| 0 | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| 1 | .272 (.479) | −.502 (.451) | −.267 (.690) |
| 2 | −.689 (.374)* | .197 (.352) | .149 (.704) |
| 3 | −1.030 (.431)** | .210 (.425) | .224 (.842) |
| 4 | −1.092 (.406)*** | .410 (.392) | −.465 (.669) |
NOTES: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have EVER experienced each incident were those that selected ″frequently″, ″occasionally″, ″rarely″, or ″very rarely″
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes
p-value <0.10
p-value <0.05
p-value <0.01
Table 5b.
Adjusted relationship between the number of reported incivility experiences with measures of satisfaction and intention to leave current employment: OFTEN1
| Faculty characteristics | Satisfied with current employment | Plan to be employed by another university within 3 years | Satisfied with career choice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Female gender | −.256 (.275) | −.141 (.262) | −.534 (.480) |
|
| |||
| Age2 | |||
| 20s-30s | −.267 (.403) | 1.160 (.411)*** | −.468 (.702) |
| 40s | .114 (.346) | 1.166 (.345)*** | −.448 (.589) |
| 50s | .162 (.357) | 1.091 (.351)*** | .162 (.671) |
|
| |||
| Number of incivility experiences reported | |||
| 0 | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| 1 | −.962 (.468)** | .467 (.413) | −.927 (.691) |
| 2 | −1.184 (.535)** | 1.810 (.427)** | −.606 (.834) |
| 3 | −1.328 (.643)** | 1.405 (.591)** | 18.553 (12055.475) |
| 4 | −.518 (1.177) | .306 (1.161) | 18.488 (20007.100) |
NOTES: Response rates varied by question
Individuals who have experienced each incident OFTEN were those that selected ″frequently″ or ″occasionally″
Age categories ″20s″ and ″30s″ were combined due to small sample sizes
p-value <0.10
p-value <0.05
p-value <0.01
Specifically, compared to those who experienced zero acts of incivility, those that EVER experienced two acts (p=0.065), three acts (p=0.017), or four acts (p=0.007) were less likely to report being satisfied with their job. Similarly, when examining the cumulative number of distinct types of uncivil acts, experienced OFTEN, similar trends were observed. Compared to those that experienced zero acts of incivility, those who OFTEN experienced one act (p=0.040), two acts (p=0.027), or three acts (p=0.039) were less likely to be satisfied with their current position. Further, those who OFTEN experienced two acts (p=0.020) or three acts (p=0.046) were significantly more likely to report an intention to leave their current employment within three years.
Lastly, we present frequencies of responses regarding whether faculty believed that senior leadership at their institutions would respond appropriately to reports of each of the acts of incivility (Results shown in the Appendix). Responses varied depending on the type of uncivil act with the majority of respondents (between 53.1% and 60% across the four types of incivility) reporting that they believed leadership at their institution would respond appropriately. Those that had EVER experienced workplace incivility (40.1–52.6%) and those that have OFTEN experienced such incidents (24.3–43.6%) reported believing that leadership at their institution would respond appropriately at lower rates.
DISCUSSION
Using a national sample of HA faculty members, we found that an estimated 27–36% have experienced at least one of four types of workplace incivility that we inquired about. Further, 4–9% of faculty respondents reported frequent experiences of workplace incivility as measured on our survey. Workplace incivility is more common in other professions, with 54% of 671 attorneys (Cortina & Magley, 2009), 63% of 80 emergency department nurses (Garth, Todd, Byers, & Kuiper, 2018), and 75% of 324 university employees (Cortina & Magley, 2009) experiencing uncivil behavior on the job. Importantly, we found that females experienced incivility more frequently than males and this was consistent with previous research in other nonacademic work settings (Cortina et al., 2001; Zurbrügg & Miner, 2016). We also found that those in their 40s or younger were more likely to experience acts of incivility from coworkers or supervisors when compared to other age groups. It may be that those who are earlier in their academic career, those that are pre-tenure, and/or those with young children experience higher work stress and are thus more susceptible to acts of incivility due to the pressures of work-life balance (Kazley, Dellifraine, Lemak, Mullen, & Menachemi, 2016). More research is needed to help understand why younger faculty members report higher rates of experienced incivility.
Consistent with the literature (Lim, Cortina, & Magley, 2008; Pearson, Andersson, & Porath, 2000; Reio & Ghosh, 2009), workplace incivility among health administration faculty was associated with adverse organizational outcomes. Specifically, faculty members who experienced incivility at work are significantly more likely to report lower job satisfaction and an intention to leave their position within the next three years. Moreover, we found that uncivil comments from one’s supervisor were negatively related to job satisfaction, whereas uncivil comments from coworkers was associated with lower career satisfaction. Much of the research conducted on workplace incivility lumps incidents from supervisors and coworkers together, making it difficult to understand the potential impact from each source (Schilpzand, De Pater, & Erez, 2016). A recent meta-analysis of workplace aggression found that aggression instigated by a supervisor has stronger detrimental effects on job satisfaction than coworker instigated aggression (Hershcovis & Barling, 2009). Additional research is needed to understand these nuances, because coworker mistreatment is also related to psychological distress such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety (Guidroz, Burnfield-Geimer, Clark, Schwetschenau, & Jex, 2010; Lim & Lee, 2011; Porath & Pearson, 2012).
We also found that the cumulative number of distinct acts of incivility was negatively related to job satisfaction and intentions to leave one’s current job. This suggests that experiencing a wider range of uncivil acts, in addition to a greater frequency of acts, may ultimately result in decreased workplace satisfaction and increased expected turnover in the academic health administration setting. Previous studies have suggested that a variety of uncivil acts may make it difficult for the victim to adapt to their instigator’s behavior, as the stressors are unpredictable and evolving (Cortina & Magley, 2009). Further, uncivil acts that gradually increase in frequency over time are thought to compound the total negative stress of the employee (Cortina & Magley, 2009). Similar to workplace bullying, harassment, and abuse, workplace incivility is related to harmful employee and organizational outcomes and should therefore be taken seriously (Cortina & Magley, 2009; Lim & Cortina, 2005).
When asked how they expected senior leadership at their intuitions would respond to reports of workplace incivility, the majority of faculty members overall believed that leadership would act appropriately. However, among those who either EVER or OFTEN experienced any acts of incivility, much fewer respondents believed that senior leadership would properly respond to the situation. Thus, an opportunity exists for academic leaders to better respond to and address workplace incivility in their organizations. Admittedly, given the nature and subtlety of workplace incivility, it is difficult to define what an appropriate response by leadership would entail. However, experts believe that in order to curtail future uncivil behavior, instigators should be addressed swiftly and justly (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). For this to occur, leadership must foster an environment that encourages open reporting of such occurrences. This can be done by having senior leaders model respectful workplace behavior and clearly define expectations of civility in organizational policy documents (Lim et al., 2008). Additionally, interpersonal skills and diversity training programs may improve employee communication by helping individuals better understand and respect diverse cultural norms, including those that affect certain genders and age groups in the work setting (Reio & Ghosh, 2009). These strategies and others may help decrease workplace incivility and the potential negative consequences that result.
Despite the new findings of our study, there are several limitations worth noting. First, we recognize that our four questions may not fully measure all instances of workplace incivility in the academic setting. As such, our findings may underestimate the true prevalence of such experiences. Given the lack of validated instruments that measure faculty-to-faculty workplace incivility, we developed applicable questions for our study. We recognize that more work is needed in this area. Second, our findings may be subject to recall bias (due to self-report) and availability bias (where more recent events may be more memorable). Third, given the cross-sectional nature of our data, the findings we present can only be interpreted as associations and not cause-and-effect. Lastly, we analyzed results from a national sample of HA faculty members that are employed in a wide range of school-types and universities located across the country. Nevertheless, our results may not be generalizable to faculty members in other disciplines.
CONCLUSION
Our study links workplace incivility to lower work satisfaction and an intention to leave one’s position among HA faculty members in the US. Academic leaders in HA should be aware that acts of incivility – especially by supervisors – may have a negative impact on important measures of faculty performance. Therefore, rather than consider workplace incivility as trivial, such behavior should be actively discouraged as it may contribute to dissatisfaction and turnover. More research is needed to examine how incivility rates change over time, what are the best organizational policies pertaining to incivility in the academic setting, and how to mitigate the impact of such acts especially on women and younger faculty members.
Acknowledgement
Heather Taylor was supported by the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health under award number T15LM012502. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the National Library of Medicine.
Appendix.
Faculty's perception of appropriate leadership responses to incivility (n=484)
| I believe that senior leadership at my institution would respond appropriately to... | Response among |
Disagree (%) | Unsure (%) | Agree (%) |
|
| ||||
| A studenťs comment about a faculty member's physical appearance (e.g., your body or clothing) that made that faculty member feel uncomfortable | ALL1 (n=484) |
78 (16.1) | 122 (25.2) | 284 (58.7) |
| EVER2 (n=132) |
30 (22.7) | 37 (28.0) | 65 (49.2) | |
| OFTEN3 (n=18) |
6 (33.3) | 7 (38.9) | 5 (27.8) | |
|
| ||||
| A coworker's comment on a colleague's physical appearance (e.g., your body or clothing) that made that colleague feel uncomfortable | ALL1 (n=483) |
74 (15.3) | 119 (24.6) | 290 (60.0) |
| EVER2 (n=156) |
31 (19.9) | 43 (27.6) | 82 (52.6) | |
| OFTEN3 (n=39) |
11 (28.2) | 11 (28.2) | 17 (43.6) | |
|
| ||||
| A coworker's comment about a colleague's family responsibilities (e.g., family planning or caregiving) that made that colleague feel uncomfortable | ALL1 (n=484) |
92 (19.0) | 135 (27.9) | 257 (53.1) |
| EVER2 (n=152) |
44 (28.9) | 47 (30.9) | 61 (40.1) | |
| OFTEN3 (n=43) |
17 (39.5) | 14 (32.6) | 12 (27.6) | |
|
| ||||
| A supervisor's comment on a subordinate's family responsibilities appearance that made the subordinate feel uncomfortable | ALL1 (n=483) |
82 (17.0) | 139 (28.8) | 262 (54.2) |
| EVER2 (n=140) |
42 (30.0) | 51 (36.4) | 47 (33.6) | |
| OFTEN3 (n=37) |
16 (43.2) | 12 (32.4) | 9 (24.3) | |
Among all Health Administration faculty respondents
Among faculty who have EVER experienced the incident
Among faculty who experienced the incident OFTEN
Contributor Information
Heather Taylor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 1050 Wishard Blvd. 5th Floor, Indianapolis IN 46202-2872.
Christopher A Harle, Department of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 1050 Wishard Ave, Room 5134, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
Sarah M. Johnson, Department of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 1050 Wishard Blvd. RG 5139, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
Nir Menachemi, Department of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 1050 Wishard Blvd. 5th Floor, Indianapolis IN 46202-2872.
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