Exploring relationships among workplace incivility, organizational commitment, work engagement and job burnout in Vietnamese primary schools

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of workplace incivility on organizational commitment, with job burnout and work engagement being mediators in Vietnamese primary schools. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data was gathered from 441 Vietnamese teachers, and linear regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The findings reveal that workplace incivility has a partial effect on organizational commitment and job burnout. In detail, job burnout mediates the relationship between workplace incivility and affective commitment. This study contributes to expanding the theoretical framework of social exchange theory through identifying the negative role of incivility in the primary schools. Practical implications The results offer several practical recommendations for Vietnamese primary schools. First, school leaders and policymakers should implement strategies to mitigate the negative impact of workplace incivility on teachers. Second, supervisors and leaders should organize training programs to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of workplace incivility and job burnout, while also exploring solutions to address these issues. Originality/value This study advances the workplace incivility literature by linking it to work engagement, job burnout and organizational commitment. It also opens the scope of the social exchange theory in primary school studies.