The Impact Of Workplace Incivility On Work And Family Field: Mechanism Explanations From Work-related Rumination And Mastery Ex-periences

Estimates suggest that workplace incivility is on the rise,with widespread and destructive effects on every aspect of employees’ lives.Previous studies on the internal mechanisms of workplace uncivility have focused on negative rumination and psychological detachment.Considering the diversity of recovery experiences and the complex structure of work rumination,combined with Conservation of Resources Theory and Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress,we proposed that mastery experiences mediate the relationship between workplace incivility and work engagement and work-family enrichment,while problem-solving pondering moderate the negative effects of workplace incivility.In study 1,490 college students were recruited to participate in a teamwork task experiment of the creative use of "brick".By manipulating workplace uncivility levels(civilized/low uncivilized/high uncivilized)and work-related rumination(affective rumination/no affective rumination;problem-solving pondering/no problem-solving pondering),the subjects were randomly assigned to 7 groups.They were required to assess their mastery experiences level after completing the team task.The results showed that individuals’ mastery experiences was lower when facing higher level of workplace uncivility.At the same time,affective rumination exacerbated the negative impact of workplace incivility on the mastery experiences,and problem-solving pondering mitigated this negative impact.In study 2,to further verify the positive effect of problem-solving pondering and the impact of workplace incivility on work and family performance,a three-wave longitudinal survey was conducted with a one-week interval.Demographic variables and all study variables were collected at Time 1.In particular,participants were asked to assess workplace incivility and problem-solving pondering during workday in a 5-day diary survey.We also collected mastery experiences,work engagement,and work-family enrichment at time 2 and time 3.During data collection,to avoid common method biases,work engagement was reported by participant’s supervisor,and work-family enrichment was reported by the s participant’s spouse.Finally,a valid sample of 408 participant was obtained.The results of data analysis showed that workplace uncivility reduced work engagement and work-family enrichment by reducing mastery experiences.As the level of problem-solving pondering increased,the mediating effect of mastery experiences was weaker.And work engagement and work-family gain can also positively predict the mastery experience at the next point in time.In study 2,participants were found to have overall low level of problem-solving pondering.Therefore,an experimental study was carried out in study 3,taking workplace uncivility(high uncivilized/low uncivilized)and coping results(coping success/coping failure)as independent variables,affective rumination and problem-solving pondering as dependent variables,to explore the reasons for overall low level of problem-solving pondering.A total of 273 people effectively participated in the experiment,completing two rounds of teamwork task — the creative use of "brick" and "plastic bottle".The results found that in the high uncivilized situation,the subjects’ affective rumination was higher.However,there was no difference in problem-solving pondering in the case of high and low levels of workplace uncivility.The effect of coping results on both affective rumination and problem-solving rumination was significant.And in the case of coping failure,workplace incivility led to more affective rumination.Research enriches the internal mechanism of workplace uncivility,clarifies the different roles of the two dimensions of work rumination,and supplements the empirical evidence of COR theory and cognitive activation theory of stress.Our study also provides some practical advice for individuals,families and enterprises.Enterprises should prevent the occurrence of workplace uncivility,and provide organizational support for the victimized employees.Individuals need to avoid becoming an instigator.If they encounter workplace uncivility,they can learn to engage in active problem-solving pondering to find suitable solutions,rather than allowing themselves to ruminate.Family members can also help employees formulate plans in a timely manner to prevent workplace uncivility from invading family life.