Workplace incivility and its impact on job performance among employees in Jordanian public universities

Abstract

Workplace incivility presents a challenge to the job performance of employees, including those in public universities. This form of mistreatment can lead to cognitive distraction and reduced work efforts among employees, ultimately contributing to a decline in organizational productivity. The current study aims at measuring the impact of workplace incivility on the job performance of personnel in public universities, considering incivility linked to the workplace itself on the one hand, and to the employees on the other. The study employed a descriptive-analytical survey approach and used a questionnaire to examine the forms of incivility that employees experienced and their effects. The findings revealed that, according to the analyzed occurrence rates, 71% of employees reported experiencing incivility in the workplace over the past five years, sometimes coinciding with harassment incidents. More specifically, 39% of employees encountered incivility once or twice, 25% faced verbal harassment, and 6% endured frequent incivility. This behavior was described separately from sexual harassment; the remaining analyses concentrated on this latter subgroup of employees. The study recommended creating a supportive work environment for employees by adopting motivational measures, such as financial and moral incentives and promotions, which positively impact employees and their performance levels.