Citation

Liu P, Li X, Li A, Wang X, Xiong G. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2021; 171: e110427.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2020.110427

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Prior research failed to explain when and why third parties experience different emotions such as anger and schadenfreude after witnessing their supervisor enact incivility to their coworkers. The current research aims to examine the moderating effect of third parties' personal traits (i.e., the dark triad) and task interdependence in the relationship between observed incivility and emotional reactions. Through the use of a critical incident technique and the two wave measures of the dark triad, task interdependence, observed incivility, anger and schadenfreude from 303 employees, the results showed that observed incivility was positively associated with both anger and schadenfreude. The dark triad traits and task interdependence moderated this effects. In particular, third parties would experience more schadenfreude rather than anger when they hold higher rather than lower levels of the dark triad traits (especially psychopathy and Machiavellianism), and/or when they work at lower rather than higher levels of task interdependence. Our findings provide a more comprehensive understanding for third parties' emotional reactions to workplace incivility. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Anger; Machiavellianism; Narcissism; Observed incivility; Psychopathy; Schadenfreude; Task interdependence