The dark side of disrespect: How workplace incivility breeds service sabotage and turnover

This study examines how different sources of workplace incivility affect frontline hotel employees. Drawing on Conservation of Resources Theory and Social Identity Theory, Study 1 compares the effects of employee incivility (originating internally) and customer incivility (originating externally) on emotional exhaustion. Based on a scenario-based experiment with 263 participants, the results show that employee incivility causes greater emotional exhaustion than customer incivility. Study 2 further differentiates in-group sources by their hierarchical level—supervisor, same-level colleague, and subordinate—and examines their specific impacts on emotional exhaustion, which, in turn, affects sabotage and turnover intentions. Using survey data from 302 respondents, the findings reveal that same-level colleague incivility has the strongest negative impact, followed by supervisor, subordinate, and customer incivility. Perceived organizational support buffers these effects. The study contributes to workplace incivility research in collectivist and high power-distance cultures and offers practical implications for hotel management.