What this publication covers
Investigates how customers react when they witness employees behaving uncivilly. Across three studies, witnessing such behavior triggers anger and a desire to retaliate against both the employee and the company, even when the customer is not directly addressed; perceived injustice helps explain the effect.
How this reference can help
Use it to question established assumptions about people, ethics, equity, and inclusion.
Curated by Ricardo Martins
View the original abstract 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
Employees sometimes engage in uncivil behavior in the workplace. We ask (a) How commonly do customers witness an employee behaving uncivilly? (b) What negative effects does customers’ witnessing of an employee’s uncivil behavior have on customers and firms? (c) Why do these e ffects occur? The results of three studies suggest that it is not uncommon for cus- tomers to witness an employee behaving in an uncivil manner. It o ccurs in many industries. Moreover, witnessing such behavior makes customers angry and creates desires to get back at the unc ivil perpetrator and the firm. These effects occur even when a manager’s uncivil comment is aimed at correcting a subordinate’ s job-related offense and even when it is delivered offstage, outside of the customer servicescape. Finally, we demonstra te that these effects are driven by customers’ concerns about deontic injustice from incivility (reactio n to a wrongful misconduct that violates fair ness standards). These results contribute to the literature on workplace incivility and customer reactio ns to service encounters as well as the burgeoning literature on customer anger and revenge. We suggest that organizations invest in training programs focusing on employee civility. Managers should receive training in coaching to mitigat e against the detrimental effects of incivility.