Who Makes the Workplace Uncivil? Exploring Perpetrators of Academic Incivility among Lecturers in Private Universities in Malaysia

This study explores the perpetrators of workplace incivility among lecturers in private universities in Malaysia, aiming to identify the primary instigators and understand how organisational factors contribute to the occurrence of such behaviours.While workplace incivility has been widely studied in Western contexts, there is limited research in Asian higher education, particularly regarding the roles of students, peers, faculty administrators, and superiors.Guided by Andersson and Pearson's Spiraling Theory of Incivility, findings from semi-structured interviews with 10 participants from selected private universities reveal that superiors are the primary source of incivility, followed by students, peers, and faculty administrators.The study shows that, unlike Western models, incivility in this context is often one-directional and tolerated due to hierarchical norms, collectivist values, and conflict avoidance.Theoretically, the study extends the Spiraling Theory by demonstrating that cultural and structural constraints can interrupt the expected reciprocal spiral of incivility.Practically, it highlights the need for clear anti-incivility policies, culturally sensitive leadership training, and institutional accountability measures to address all sources of incivility.