Altruistic leadership and workplace incivility: Does mastery climate matter?

Examining the relationship between altruistic leadership and workplace incivility among IT employees has not been well documented in the leadership literature. Human resource management practices to mitigate negative influences in hybrid or remote work settings are not well defined. This study examined mastery climate as a moderator between altruistic leadership and workplace incivility among IT employees in India. This study employed a cross-sectional design and was conducted among IT employees across various IT industries in India, aged 21–53 years. The data were collected between February 2024 & April 2024 and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results indicated that altruistic leadership, mastery climate, and their interaction predicted workplace incivility. The relationship between altruistic leadership and workplace incivility was moderated by mastery climate. Mastery climate can create an environment that encourages constructive interactions and prosocial behaviors, reinforcing norms of respect and civility, thereby lowering the rate of workplace incivility. The findings of our study can assist HR management in assessing leaders with altruistic leadership qualities. Furthermore, organizations can implement systems to monitor mechanisms within HR practices to track the incidents of workplace incivility, rate of mastery climate, altruistic leadership levels, and their impact.