THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKPLACE INCIVILITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN SABAH
Keywords:
Workplace incivility, psychological distress, education levelAbstract
The main focus of this study is to investigate the relationship between workplace incivility and psychological distress in Sabah. The moderating variable of this study was education level. The research design is quantitative in nature. The frequent reports that appear in newspapers and other forms of media in Malaysia shows how prevalent the issue of workplace incivility has been happening in organizations throughout Malaysia. This quantitative study collected data from 240 private and public employees in Sabah using the convenient sampling method. The results show that employees in Sabah perceive a slightly below average level of incivility from their superiors as well as from their peers. The level of incivility received from their superiors was significantly higher than their peers. Females reported higher levels of perceived workplace incivility as compared to the males. The regression analysis found that 59.8 percent of the variance in psychological distress can be explained by workplace incivility both by the superiors as well as peers. Education was found not to moderate the relationship between workplace incivility and psychological distress. The result of this study does support previous studies underlining the importance of management to try to keep the levels of workplace incivility as low as possible in their organizations.
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