Research On The Psychological And Behavioral Ramifications Of Workplace Mistreatment

The malady of workplace mistreatment-an umbrella term used to denote employees' experiences of various obnoxious behaviors at work-has affected many of us.Oftentimes,while being at work,we see our colleagues being condescended,picked on,and harassed by others or we personally experience situations where other organizational members(e.g.,co-workers or supervisor)attempt to sabotage our reputation and career success,bully and/or ignore us.No matter what form it takes,either witnessed or experienced,mistreatment incurs heavy costs both to employees and organizations.To date,a plethora of constructs,which may also be referred to as organizational misbehaviors,have been included in the lexicon of workplace mistreatment with examples including: deviance,abusive supervision,bullying,interpersonal conflicts,social undermining,harassment,incivility,and ostracism.Although these misbehaviors can occur anywhere,research has however,shown that the latter forms,i.e.,incivility(low intensity derogatory behaviors)and ostracism(exclusion)are more pervasive and on a constant rise in workplaces across the globe.Apparently,incivility and ostracism appear to be mundane,but in fact,are highly insidious and can cause serious harms to employees(e.g.,deteriorated mental health and emotional well-being)and the organization(e.g.,low productivity).By far,myriad aspects of incivility and ostracism have been investigated.However,studies exploring these misbehaviors' effects on employees' work effort are particularly scant.Moreover,literature is almost silent about the mechanisms that might underlie such effects,as well as the factors that can mitigate these effects.The aim of the current study was to fill these gaps in the literature.Particularly,this study was set out to:(1)investigate the effects of workplace incivility and ostracism on employees' work effort;(2)explore how such effects might take place;(3)and examine when such effects are less or more pronounced.This study contends that emotional exhaustion could serve as a psychological conduit through which incivility and ostracism might encumber employees' effort,while selfcompassion and work-centrality may buffer the harmful effects of incivility and ostracism.This research is structured into six main sections,of which the first two sections(chapter1 and chapter 2)provide a detailed account of existing knowledge and highlight gaps in it,enlist research objectives and hypotheses,and propose a research model.Whereas,the methodological and design aspects are explained in chapter 3.Meanwhile,all major findings and related implications are presented in remaining sections(chapter 4,chapter 5,and chapter 6).This research ends up on a brief summary of conclusions.Using conservation of resources(COR)theory as theoretical lens and taking insights from previous literature,15 hypotheses were proposed and a survey approach was adopted to collect empirical data from the employee of three service sector industries(i.e.,telecoms,banks,and higher education institutions)in Pakistan.A total of 310 individuals(n =310)voluntarily participated in this study's anonymous survey,which was administered online.Results of the rigorous analyses indicated that(1)employees' exposure to workplace incivility and ostracism depletes their emotional resources,due to which they expend less effort;(2)self-compassion mitigates the debilitating effects of incivility and ostracism(e.g.,emotional exhaustion);(3)and work-centrality buffers the ostracism-work effort relationship.The study adds to the existing literature in following ways:(1)it deepens our understanding about the role of incivility and ostracism in causing adverse outcomes;(2)it unpacks the hitherto unexamined relationships of emotional exhaustion and work centrality with work effort;(3)it identifies a psychological process by which incivility and ostracism might affect work effort;(4)it highlights the factors that can attenuate the harmful psychological and behavioral impacts of incivility and ostracism;(5)and it explicates the relative effects of incivility and ostracism.With respect to theoretical contributions,the study introduces two invigorating resources namely,self-compassion and work centrality,to the resource list/base of COR theory.Moreover,the study lends empirical support to COR theory's relatively less scrutinized principle of resource caravans and extends this theory's applicability beyond the realms of burnout and stress.As for practical implications,the study recommends that the incidence rate of incivility and ostracism should be curtailed.This could be done in any of the following ways:(1)sensitization of organizational members;(2)respectful and accurate communication;(3)establishing and enforcing the norms for mutual respect;(4)instituting culture of respectful interactions;(5)establishing an effective feedback system;(6)launching civility interventions;(7)modeling civil behaviors;(8)displaying appropriate leadership styles;(9)training of managers;(10)and careful hiring.A part from these initiatives,organizations should also craft interventions(e.g.,mindfulnessbased stress reduction program,mindful self-compassion training,and skill development/competency enhancement programs)to mitigate the pernicious effects of workplace misbehaviors(i.e.,increased emotional exhaustion and reduced work effort)and bolster employees' competencies/resources.The study further recommends that employees should play an active role in protecting themselves from mistreating behaviors and their effects on self-help basis.In this nexus,the strategies like limiting one's exposure to and dependence on uncivil and hostile coworkers,taking time for recreational activities,practicing mindful-meditation,and taking help from online resources,could be beneficial.This study also highlights several plausible avenues for future research.For instance,this study offers a ‘springboard' for future research on the moderating role of self-compassion and work centrality in the stressor-strain and stressor-outcomes relationships,respectively,and encourages researchers in the mistreatment field to investigate more objective outcomes of incivility and ostracism.