IMPACT OF WORKPLACE INCIVILITY ON EMPLOYEES WORK BEHAVIOR ( A CASE STUDY OF BARAKAT CAMEROON)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Incivility is a specific type of workplace misbehaviour that may be differentiated from other categories due to its distinct trait of lacking any evident intention to physically or psychologically hurt others (Andersson and Pearson, 2019; Hershcovis, 2021). When compared to other forms of mistreatment that involve deliberate actions, workplace incivility occur due to thoughtlessness or a lack of understanding of the unintended consequences of certain behaviours in a specific situation. Workplace incivility refers to various forms of mistreatment and daily annoyances that occur in the workplace. These behaviours are often instigated by coworkers and customers and include condescension, demeaning or derogatory remarks, disregarding an employee's opinion, and ignoring a coworker. While, coworker incivility refers to uncivil behaviour that occurs between employees, involving a perpetrator (the one being uncivil) and a target (the person seeing the incivility). On the other hand, customer incivility refers to uncivil behaviour exhibited by consumers, with an unclear intention to hurt an employee. According to Cortina et al. (2021), both forms of incivility have a negative impact on an employee's performance at work. However, incivility from coworkers in an organization has a negative impact on the work satisfaction of the targeted individual (Cortina et al., 2001; Lim and Cortina, 2019; Lim et al., 2018). It also leads to increased job stress, turnover intentions, and job insecurity (Cortina and Magley, 2019). Beyond that, it has a negative impact on the willingness of coworkers to support each other, leading to a decline in work performance (Porath and Erez, 2018). Furthermore, employees who encounter incivility in their workplace are unable to focus on their work due to concerns about further occurrences of incivility and make efforts to avoid the person responsible (Porath and Pearson, 2018). Consequently, their job performance suffers. In addition, the uncivil behaviour of employees has a negative impact on third parties who see it, resulting in reduced performance on both routine and creative activities (Porath and Erez, 2019). However, the consequences of workplace incivility extend beyond the immediate emotional fatigue experienced by employees, particularly service professionals, and have a significant impact on the overall outcomes of these individuals. Furthermore, according to Wright and Cropanzano (2018), heightened emotional fatigue from the impact of incivility typically leads to adverse effects on both employees and organizational outcomes, including increased work stress, diminished job satisfaction, withdrawal behaviours, and overall deterioration in mental well-being. According to previous studies, workplace incivility has a negative impact on an employee's work  behaviour (Totterdell and Holman, 2023). Therefore, a survey will be conducted in order to examine the impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Recent research has indicated that workplace incivility, which encompasses behaviours such as rudeness, discourtesy, and disrespect, is a highly prevalent type of abuse in the workplace (Cortina, 2018). Workplace incivility refers to a specific type of mild misconduct that occurs in the workplace. It is different from workplace aggressiveness because it is characterised by unclear intentions to damage others (Andersson and Pearson, 2019). In addition, workplace incivility, such as rude behaviour from coworkers and customers, has negative consequences for both employees and organizations. This is because it leads to significant costs for the targeted employees, their colleagues, and the organization as a whole. Several studies have highlighted the detrimental effects of workplace incivility, including those conducted by Cortina and Magley (2019), Cortina et al. (2021), Lim et al. (2018), Sakurai and Jex (2022), and Sliter et al. (2022). Service employees such as the employees of Barakat Cameroon are especially affected by coworker and customer incivility, which often leads to negative work reactions such as retaliatory behaviours, stress, emotional exhaustion, lack of creativity, and intention to leave. These reactions can immediately decrease task performance (Sliter et al., 2022). However, prior studies have shown that coworker incivility in the workplace has adverse impacts on the psychological well-being and stress levels of targeted service personnel, workplace satisfaction, turnover intentions, and physical health. While, customer incivility has been found to worsen emotional exhaustion in service employees, leading to increased stress, decreased job satisfaction, withdrawal behaviour, declines in mental health, and a deterioration of customer service quality. Nevertheless, most of the current studies have mostly concentrated on the adverse effects of either colleague or customer rudeness on the outcomes of employees and organizations. Thus, it is in the light of these that the study seeks to examine the impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon.

1.3  Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon. Specifically, the study will;

Find out the extent to which workplace incivility has affected  employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon

Identify the factors responsible for workplace incivility among employees in Barakat Cameroon

Investigate the impact of workplace incivility on employees well-being in Barakat Cameroon.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

To what extent has workplace incivility affected employees' work behavior in Barakat Cameroon?

What factors are responsible for workplace incivility among employees in Barakat Cameroon?

How does workplace incivility impact employees' well-being in Barakat Cameroon?

1.5  Research Hypotheses

H0:  There is no significant impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon.

Ha: There is a significant impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon.

1.6  Significance of the Study

Barakat's management will employ research findings to develop training programmes and initiatives that explicitly aim to foster respectful communication and behaviour inside the workplace. Moreover, they would possess the capacity to implement strategies aimed at addressing and preventing workplace harassment while simultaneously improving the emotional well-being of employees. Furthermore, the discoveries will empower employees to recognize and address disrespectful behaviour in their workplace, potentially reducing the occurrence of harassment and improving overall psychological well-being. Moreover, future scholars will utilize it as a comprehensive evaluation of existing material. Consequently, future students interested in researching this field will be able to utilize this work as existing material for critical evaluation.Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regard to examine the impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon.

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is boarded on the impact of workplace incivility on employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon. Empirically, the study will find out the extent to which workplace incivility has affected  employees work behaviour in Barakat Cameroon, identify the factors responsible for workplace incivility among employees in Barakat Cameroon, investigate the impact of workplace incivility on employees well-being in Barakat Cameroon and find out whether customers incivility in the workplace affects employees’ performance in Barakat Cameroon.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to employees of Barakat Cameroon

1.8 Limitation of the study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

 1.9 Definition of Terms

Workplace Incivility: refers to the deliberate and consistent exhibition of rudeness and discourtesy, demonstrating a disregard for the well-being and feelings of others  (Cortina et al., 2021) .

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