A Behavioral Analysis of Incivility in the Virtual Workplace

ABSTRACT

Despite the growing use of virtual communication technology and flexible work sites allowing for remote teamwork, little research has been done to systematically review workplace incivility within this context. The literature on workplace incivility has primarily been through the lens of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology, focusing on antecedents and correlational organizational outcomes. Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) strategies may provide additional insight for developing sustainable interventions for workplace incivility. The current paper discusses how OBM can supplement the I/O Psychological incivility literature and may provide additional insight into environmental context and prevention tactics for virtual workplace incivility. Specifically, we (a) identify contextual events that predict civil or uncivil behaviors by assessing antecedents, consequences, and interlocking contingencies, (b) consider value-enhancing or -abating motivating operations, (c) describe a functional assessment for pinpointing problem behaviors, and (d) suggest several potential interventions for mitigating virtual incivility.

KEYWORDS:

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Organizational Behavior Management
• workplace incivility
• virtual communication technology
• virtual incivility

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank editor Douglas A. Johnson and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and valuable suggestions. In addition, the authors are grateful to Matthew Laske for his helpful insights during the development of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).