Cyber Incivility And Work Outcomes

Given that many employees use electronic system for daily work communication,this study examined within-person relationships between cyber incivility and work outcomes(cyberloafing and task performance)through the mediating roles of day-level employees'affective states(both negative and positive).Basing on conservation of resources theory,we examined two resources(self-leadership and temporal leadership)that may weaken or strengthen the impacts of cyber incivility on employees' emotional experiences and work outcomes.We tested our hypotheses by an experience sampling study with 112 full-time employees across 10 consecutive workdays.Results showed that cyber incivility as work stressor makes employees more likely to engage in cyberloafing,but less likely to improve task performance,and the relationship between cyber incivility and task performance was mediated through both positive and negative affect among employees,while the relationship between cyber incivility and cyberloafing was mediated only via negative affect among employees.Furthermore,self-leadership attenuated the positive effects of cyber incivility on employees' negative affect,and temporal leadership weakened the relationship between negative affect and cyberloafing as well as the relationship between positive affect and task performance.The theoretical and management significance of these findings are discussed,followed by a discussion of limitations and directions for future research.