Lilia M. Cortina

Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact.

This study extends the literature on interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace by examining the incidence, targets, instigators, and impact of incivility (e.g., disrespect, condescension, degradation). Data were collected from 1,180 public-sector employees, 71% of whom reported some experience of workplace incivility in the previous 5 years. As many as one third of the most powerful individuals within the organization instigated these uncivil acts. Although women endured greater frequencies of incivility than did men, both genders experienced similarly negative effects on job satisfaction, job withdrawal, and career salience. Uncivil workplace experiences were also associated with greater psychological distress; however, indices of psychological and physical health were relatively unaffected. The authors discuss these findings in the context of organizational and cognitive stress theories.

Interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace: the interface and impact of general incivility and sexual harassment.

This article examined the relationships and outcomes of behaviors falling at the interface of general and sexual forms of interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace. Data were collected with surveys of two different female populations (Ns = 833 and 1,425) working within a large public-sector organization. Findings revealed that general incivility and sexual harassment were related constructs, with gender harassment bridging the two. Moreover, these behaviors tended to co-occur in organizations, and employee well-being declined with the addition of each type of mistreatment to the workplace experience. This behavior type (or behavior combination) effect remained significant even after controlling for behavior frequency. The findings are interpreted from perspectives on sexual aggression, social power, and multiple victimization.

Unseen Injustice: Incivility as Modern Discrimination in Organizations

This article advances a theory of incivility as a veiled manifestation of sexism and racism in organizations. To support this argument, I draw from social psychological research on modern discrimination. The result is a multilevel model of selective incivility, with determinants at the level of the person, organization, and society. Selective incivility could be one mechanism by which gender and racial disparities persist in American organizations, despite concerted efforts to eradicate bias. I discuss scientific and practical implications.

The Climate for Women in Academic Science: The Good, the Bad, and the Changeable

Deficits theory posits that women scientists have not yet achieved parity with men scientists because of structural aspects of the scientific environment that provide them with fewer opportunities and more obstacles than men. The current study of 208 faculty women scientists tested this theory by examining the effect of personal negative experiences and perceptions of the workplace climate on job satisfaction, felt influence, and productivity. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that women scientists experiencing more sexual harassment and gender discrimination reported poorer job outcomes. Additionally, perceptions of a generally positive, nonsexist climate, as well as effective leadership, were related to positive job outcomes after controlling for harassment and discrimination. We discuss implications for the retention and career success of women in academic science.

Raising Voice, Risking Retaliation: Events Following Interpersonal Mistreatment in the Workplace

This study advances the literature on workplace deviance, addressing retaliation victimization in the context of interpersonal mistreatment. Using survey data from 1,167 public-sector employees, the authors investigated experiences of work retaliation victimization and social retaliation victimization among employees who have vocally resisted interpersonal mistreatment. Regression analyses suggest that different victim voice mechanisms trigger different forms of retaliation, depending on the social positions of the mistreatment victim and instigator. Discriminant function analyses demonstrate lower professional, psychological, and physical well-being among mistreated employees who have been further victimized with retaliation. These analyses also reveal health-related costs associated with victim silence--that is, enduring mistreatment without voicing resistance. Results are interpreted in light of theory on power, emotions, and justice in organizations.

Patterns and Profiles of Response to Incivility in the Workplace

The authors draw on stress and coping theory to understand patterns of individual response to workplace incivility. According to data from 3 employee samples, incivility tended to trigger mildly negative appraisals, which could theoretically differentiate incivility from other categories of antisocial work behavior. Employees experiencing frequent and varied incivility from powerful instigators generally appraised their uncivil encounters more negatively. They responded to this stressor using a multifaceted array of coping strategies, which entailed support seeking, detachment, minimization, prosocial conflict avoidance, and assertive conflict avoidance. These coping reactions depended on the targets appraisal of the situation, the situations duration, and the organizational position and power of both target and instigator. Implications for organizational science and practice are discussed.

The (un)reasonableness of reporting: antecedents and consequences of reporting sexual harassment.

This study places the reporting of sexual harassment within an integrated model of the sexual harassment process. Two structural models were developed and tested in a sample (N = 6,417) of male and female military personnel. The 1st model identifies determinants and effects of reporting; reporting did not improve--and at times worsened--job, psychological, and health outcomes. The authors argue that organizational responses to reports (i.e., organizational remedies, organizational minimization, and retaliation) as well as procedural satisfaction can account for these negative effects. The 2nd model examines these mediating mechanisms; results suggest that these mediators, and not reporting itself, are the source of the negative effects of reporting. Organizational and legal implications of these findings are discussed.

Selective Incivility as Modern Discrimination in Organizations: Evidence and Impact

This collection of studies tested aspects of Cortina’s theory of selective incivility as a “modern” manifestation of sexism and racism in the workplace and also tested an extension of that theory to ageism. Survey data came from employees in three organizations: a city government (N = 369), a law enforcement agency (N = 653), and the U.S. military (N = 15,497). According to analyses of simple mediation, target gender and race (but not age) affected vulnerability to uncivil treatment on the job, which in turn predicted intent to leave that job. Evidence of moderated mediation also emerged, with target gender and race interacting to predict uncivil experiences, such that women of color reported the worst treatment. The article concludes with implications for interventions to promote civility and nondiscrimination in organizations.

From Insult to Injury: Explaining the Impact of Incivility

Previous research has demonstrated that violence, harassment, and discrimination have negative consequences for individual well-being. However, this literature has focused less on subtle forms of mistreatment, such as incivility. The current study addresses this gap by developing and testing a conceptual model of incivility, as experienced in institutions of higher education. A survey of 1,043 university students revealed that over 75% had experienced uncivil behavior from other members of their institution in the prior year. Structural equation analyses suggest that these incivility targets endured psychological distress, dissatisfaction with and disengagement from their institution, and performance decline. We also identified perceptions of injustice and ostracism as key mediators in this process, which operated somewhat differently depending on the formal institutional status of the incivility instigator. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Beyond Targets: Consequences of Vicarious Exposure to Misogyny at Work

The present study tested a model examining 2 indicators of a hostile interpersonal workplace climate for women-observed hostility (i.e., incivility and sexual harassment) toward women and perceived organizational unresponsiveness to sexual harassment--and how they relate to well-being and withdrawal for employees. Participants included 871 female and 831 male employees from a public university. According to structural equation analyses, observing hostility toward women and perceiving the organization as lax about harassment predict lower well-being, which translates into higher organizational withdrawal for both female and male employees. Results hold even after controlling for personal mistreatment, negative affectivity, and observed hostility toward men. These findings suggest that working in a misogynistic environment can have negative effects for all employees.