Demystifying sensemaking of workplace incivility: does the virtual world of work reduce incivility?
Kriti Gupta, Shuchi Sinha, Kanika T. BhalPurpose
This study aims to understand individuals’ experiences of workplace incivility (WPI) and how they decode it and cope with it. It also investigates the implications of sensemaking of WPI for outcomes, specifically departures from WPI escalations. The study emphasises the role of context in WPI sensemaking and the unique challenges and opportunities posed by the virtual context, which creates possibilities for departure.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on 73 semi-structured interviews conducted in two phases (virtual work settings and complete work in office or hybrid mode) with participants from diverse service industries in India. An abductive analysis was performed.
Findings
The study offers in-depth insights into how sensemaking of WPI unfolds and the various stages, including identification, interpretation and in/action, that inform and influence one another to facilitate departure from WPI spirals. Insights from workplace experiences in a virtual context highlight the newer contours of WPI in this context, such as being muted by someone or not letting another person enter the virtual meeting room. The findings reveal the challenges victims face in making sense of these experiences due to a lack of social co-location with others, limited media richness and cues that impact WPI identification, interpretation and response and may create opportunities for departure from incivility spirals.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable insights for organisations and employees. WPI findings in the virtual setting underscore the need to recognise the evolving contours of WPI and devote more attention to them. A sensemaking perspective on WPI helps individuals and organisations understand how WPI is perceived and dealt with and indicates how WPI spirals can be broken before they seep and spread into the organisation. Knowing the possible departure points might inform the design of early measures for stalling the diffusion of WPI.
Originality/value
Unlike previous research, which focused on the “what” and “why” of incivility and examined antecedents and consequences, this study focuses on “how” incivility is perceived and made sense of. Building on sensemaking theory and reflections from a virtual work design, it contributes to identifying the various stages of WPI sensemaking, the role of context and possibilities of departures from WPI spirals, which remain understudied in the literature. Reflections from a virtual work design make the study timely and relevant to contemporary workplaces.