Gender, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Workplace Incivility

Workplace incivility is a relatively new area of research within organizational psychology, and much of the research to date has focused on targets of incivility at work. Workplace incivility has been defined as low-level, ambiguous, negative behaviors which are rude and discourteous and display a lack of regard for others. Individuals who frequently encounter workplace incivility may also experience a number of negative psychological and somatic outcomes, including but not limited to impaired concentration and productivity decline, increased absenteeism. Incivility, also referred to as bullying, emotional abuse, and mobbing, has increasingly become an issue in today's workplace.The purpose of the present study was to examine perceptions of workplace incivility as a function of observers' gender, observers' gender-related attitudes, and the gender of the instigator and target of the mistreatment. The study included data from 102 (65% female, 90% male) participants from various occupations and backgrounds across the Pondicherry region. Participants completed a web-based survey that consisted of scenarios of uncivil interactions, gender-attitudes, and various demographic information. Results suggest that observers' gender and gender-related attitudes are important factors in how they perceive workplace incivility. Results also suggest that the gender of those involved in uncivil interactions is less influential.