Workplace Incivility vs. Organizational Affective Commitment Essay

Workplace Incivility vs. Organizational Affective Commitment - Essay Example Although there is no guarantee that HR can reduce the negative effects of workplace incivility that lead to low employee morale, job satisfaction, stress, health problems, high absenteeism and high turnover at the workplace, certain HR practices such as hiring, orientation and mentoring newly hired employees are developed to control workplace incivility. A fundamental HR practice that enhances affective commitment, on the other hand, would be developing and creating a work environment that discourages workforce incivility and allows workers to be treated with respect and dignity. Workforce incivility refers to a less intense nonstandard behavior pertaining to the breach of workplace norms where the intention of inflicting harm on the other party is unknown (L.M. and C.M. 1999). Incivility at the workplace can manifest itself in forms as subtle as displaying reluctance to work, feeling de energized, demoralized and underappreciated. In short, workforce incivility implies an atmosphere whereby the workforce is faced with rudeness and socially unacceptable behavior at the workplace. More often than not, the cause of workforce incivility is the behavior of co-workers rather than supervisors (Yeung and Gnffin 2008). Several researches have been conducted regarding the relation of workforce incivility to self-esteem and the self-respect of the workforce. Several workplace practices have contributed to workforce incivility; de-layering, downsizing, Business Process Reengineering, cutting budgets, enhancing productivity to name a few (Yeung and Gnffin 2008). According to one research conducted, over 71% of respondents had gone through some acts of workforce incivility in a five year time period (Cortina, et al. 2001). The speed with which advanced communications technology evolves, including advanced cell phones such as Blackberry, has also enhanced the scope of workforce incivility. The instances of mistreatment are no longer limited to the workplace; they have spread to the cyberspace as well. A more inclusive approach towards workforce incivility defines it as the set of explicit (verbal) and implicit (non-verbal) actions that lead to individuals feeling demoralized, de-energized, oppressed, exploited or humiliated in the workplace (Yeung and Gnffin 2008). Furthermore, it has been proven that workforce incivility translates to low employee morale, job satisfaction, stress, health problems, high absenteeism and high turnover at the workplace. Evidence also suggests that if this mistreatment is not rectified, it eventually results in high costs of hiring and training, poor work environment, lower productivity, costs of claims and law suits. According to one author, Sutton’s methodology, the total cost of workforce incivility for Silicon Valley owing to the incivility of one key worker amounts to US$160,000 per year (Yeung and Gnffin 2008). In this study he fully considered the cost of incivility in terms of the victims, management, law as well as human resources. According to research conducted by the U.K Department of Health, the cost of stress induced by workforce incivility amounts to ? 1.3 billion annually (Yeung and Gnffin 2008). Throughout the world, the engagement of employees has been considered as an essential factor in identification of best employers as well as talent. Employee engagement is a holistic construct which is defined in terms of emotional and cognitive commitment. Commitment here is defined as the urge to â€Å"stay† (continue to work in the company), â€Å"strive† (put in extra endeavors to enhance the performance of the company beyond the tasks mentioned in the job description) and â€Å"say† (spread positive word of mouth regarding the organization) (Yeung and Gnffin