Supervisor incivility and counterproductive work behavior: the role of job and personal resources

Purpose: Studies show that supervisor incivility can have detrimental consequences for subordinates. However, little is known about the job and personal resources that can reduce the effect of supervisor incivility on subordinates' counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Based on the Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) model, we investigate social job crafting (job resource) and internal locus of control (LOC; personal resource) as buffers on the relationship between supervisor incivility and subordinates' CWB toward the organization. Design/methodology/approach: Two field studies to test our proposed hypotheses were conducted. A two-wave time-lagged design was used and data was collected from 115 supervisors and 318 subordinates from a large electricity provider company (study 1) and 121 employee–coworker dyads from a large insurance company (study 2). Findings: Across the two studies it was found that supervisor incivility positively relates to subordinates' CWB toward the organization. Further, this relationship was weaker for individuals with high internal LOC and those who engaged in social job crafting. Practical implications: The findings are helpful for HR managers to figure out how to stop supervisor incivility through civility training and motivating employees to social job crafting behavior. Originality/value: This study implies that social job crafting (job resource) and internal LOC (personal resource) are essential factors that can reduce the effects of supervisor incivility on subordinates' CWB toward the organization.