Who Becomes a Target? Personality, Behavior, and Minority Status as Antecedents of Workplace Incivility

Workplace incivility (WI) constitutes low-intensity deviant behavior in the workplace characterized by an ambiguous intent to harm and violating mutual norms of respect. Whereas outcomes of WI are well-researched, far fewer studies have investigated its antecedents. In a cross-sectional, correlational study with two large samples (N = 467 and N = 483), we examined personality traits, conflict management styles (CMS), and markers of marginalized group status as predictors of WI as well as organizational policies and norms as moderators. Results show that agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism predicted WI, with the integrating and dominating CMS partially mediating most of these relationships. Additionally, women and individuals with non-normative gender identities reported being targeted more than men. Organizational policies and norms proved to be inconsequential. These findings emphasize the role of both individual behaviors and identity-based targeting in WI. Conflict resolution training and manager awareness may help reduce WI, particularly for vulnerable groups.