Feeling shame and guilt when observing workplace incivility: Elicitors and behavioral responses

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21395
• Published date: 01 December 2020
• Date: 01 December 2020

QUANTITATIVE STUDY

Feeling shame and guilt when observing

workplace incivility: Elicitors and behavioral

responses

Gerardo A. Miranda

1

| Jennifer L. Welbourne

1

| Ana M. Sariol

2

1

Department of Management, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas

2

Department of Management, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana

Correspondence

Gerardo A. Miranda, Department of

Management, The University of Texas Rio

Grande Valley, 1201 West University Drive,

Edinburg, TX 78539.

Email: gerardo.miranda01@utrgv.edu

Abstract

This research investigates the elicitors and behavioral

responses associated with feeling guilt and shame in

response to observed workplace incivility. We draw from

the appraisal model of self-conscious emotions to hypothe-

size that perceiving personal responsibility for acts of incivil-

ity conducted by others in the organization is associated

with feelings of guilt and shame, and that these relationships

are differentially moderated by perceived controllability

over the incident. We further propose that shame is associ-

ated with avoidance and withdrawal behaviors, whereas

guilt is associated with retaliatory and supportive behaviors

in response to the observed incivility. We tested these

hypotheses with a sample of 309 full-time working adults

who completed an online survey through Amazon's

Mechanical Turk platform. Our results support the claim

that perceived responsibility is associated with feeling

shame and guilt for observed incivility. The relationship

between perceived responsibility and guilt was stronger

when respondents perceived greater control over the inci-

dent; however, controllability did not moderate between

responsibility and shame. As expected, shame was associ-

ated with avoiding the target and instigator and withdraw-

ing from work, while guilt was associated with both

retaliation toward the instigator and supporting the target.

DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21395

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Human Resource Development Quarterly. 2020;31:371–392. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrdq 371

Implications of our results for theory and human resource

development practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS

emotion in organizations, employee well-being, guilt, shame,

workplace incivility

1|INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, scholars and practitioners have identified workplace incivility as a growing concern within organi-

zations that results in detrimental consequences for workers and companies (Andersson & Pearson, 1999; Her-

shcovis, Cameron, Gervais, & Bozeman, 2018; Porath & Pearson, 2013). Workplace incivility refers to low-intensity

negative behaviors (e.g., ignoring or excluding someone from professional camaraderie, being condescending to

others; Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001) that are ambiguous in intent and violate norms of workplace

courtesy and respect (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). Survey research indicates that 98% of workers have experi-

enced incivility, while up to 50% experience rude behavior on a weekly basis (Porath & Pearson, 2013). Moreover,

incivility does not discriminate across industries, firms, or workers (Cortina, Kabat-Farr, Magley, & Nelson, 2017).

Incivility adversely impacts organizations by influencing task performance (Schilpzand, De Pater, & Erez, 2016)

absenteeism (Porath & Pearson, 2012), organizational citizenship behavior (Liu, Zhou, & Che, 2018), and counter-

productive work behavior (Welbourne & Sariol, 2017). Uncivil behavior can spread to entire departments, and if

unaddressed, escalate into more serious forms of workplace aggression (Miner et al., 2018), which ultimately impact

an organization's largest competitive advantage—its employees (Porath & Pearson, 2013). As such, incivility is

extremely damaging to both organizational and individual performance (Estes & Wang, 2008), causing companies

substantial loss in the form of money and people (Porath & Pearson, 2013). Surveys indicate that a single incivility

incident can span weeks for human resources professionals before being resolved, while managers of Fortune 1,000

firms spend about 13 % of their time, or approximately 7 weeks per year, attempting to repair damagedone by inci-

vility (Connelly, 1994; Porath & Pearson, 2013).

Noting the deleterious effects of incivility on organizations, Estes and Wang (2008) called for greater attention

to this phenomenon within the field of human resource development (HRD). In response, HRD studies began to

emerge on this topic, including a special issue on “The Toxic Continuum”published in Advances in Developing Human

Resources (Ghosh, Jacobs, & Reio, 2011). This research has extended knowledge with regard to both targets (Ghosh,

Reio, & Bang, 2013; Reio, 2011) and instigators of incivility (Ghosh, Dierkes, & Falleta, 2011). However, the role of

those who observe incivility remains largely unexplored in the context of HRD, although it is an emerging, yet small,

research stream in the broader incivility literature (e.g., Hershcovis & Bhatnagar, 2017; Reich & Hershcovis, 2015).

In the current paper, we emphasize the need for HRD professionals to consider not only targets and instigators

of incivility, but also employees who witness incivility in the workplace. Our argument is twofold. First, recent studies

suggest that the damaging effects of incivility extend to employees who merely observe this behavior (Miner &

Eischeid, 2012; Miner-Rubino & Cortina, 2007), underscoring the need for HRD professionals to be aware of and

address the broader impacts of incivility to the workforce. Because HRD professionals play an essential role in creat-

ing a civil and respectful workplace (Estes & Wang, 2008) and developing an organization's human capital (Holton

III & Yamkovenko, 2008), they are well-positioned to play an integral role in addressing the negative impacts of inci-

vility. Second, observers can play an important role in curtailing workplace incivility. Due to the ambiguity and sub-

tlety of incivility (Andersson & Pearson, 1999), human resources policies are not always well-suited to address it

directly (Reio & Ghosh, 2009). Instead, many times, incivility goes by unnoticed by organizations and unreported by

targets (Pearson & Porath, 2005). Tapping into the potential of workers who observe incivility to take corrective

372 MIRANDA ET AL.