Linking workplace incivility and frontline employees' subjective well-being: the role of work-home enrichment and coping strategies

Abstract

Purpose Workplace incivility (WI) has been extensively studied. However, less is known about how WI spills over into employees' lives. Building on the work-home resources model, the authors develop a conceptual model investigating work-family enrichment (WFE) as the mediator between WI and subjective well-being (SWB) and coping strategies as the moderator of this indirect relationship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were gathered from 266 frontline employees (FLEs) working in different banks in Vietnam, using a convenience sampling technique. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed. Findings The results show that coworker incivility (COWI) predicts a lower level of WFE, which in turn is associated with SWB, while supervisor incivility is not. The authors also found that coping strategies moderate the adverse influence of COWI on employees' WFE. Originality/value Although much research has been conducted on the predictors of SWB, little is known about how WI and WFE together impact SWB, and insight into how to buffer the effects of WI are also lacking. This study thus fills a gap in the literature. Implications for theory, practice and future research are discussed.