An I for an I: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Instigated and Reciprocal Incivility

Incivility and its negative impacts on individuals, teams, and organizations have been widely studied in workplace contexts, but the literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of incivility from the instigator's perspective. This meta-analysis of instigated incivility included 35,344 workers from 76 independent samples. Results showed that instigated incivility was related to several correlates including psychological ill-being, rho = .36, and well-being, rho = -.17; physical well-being, rho = -.25; personal dispositions that are risk factors, rho = .47, and preventative factors, rho = -.34; negative, rho = .28, and positive, rho = -.33, job attitudes; positive team characteristics, rho = -.28; job demands, rho = .10; and experienced, rho = .61, and observed, rho = .58, incivility. Moderator analyses showed that the relationship between experienced and instigated incivility was weaker for older participants and under conditions of greater job control and work-group civility.

Automated summary

This study found that instigated incivility is associated with individual psychological well-being, team characteristics, job attitudes, and other factors. Additionally, the relationship between experienced and instigated incivility is weaker for older participants and under conditions of greater job control and work-group civility.