From Incivility to Disengagement: Negative Rumination as a Mediating Mechanism

Abstract

The present study examined the indirect relation of workplace incivility with work engagement mediated by negative rumination. The presence of enthusiastic, vigorous and engaged faculty members is essential for smooth running of universities but the existance of workplace incivility is continuos threat for work engagement of faculty members as it persuades them to be involved in negative rumination. The cross-sectional data was gathered from 465 teaching staff members across three universities in Balochistan using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 27), employing correlation and regression analyses to test direct relationships, and the PROCESS macro (Version 4.0) by Andrew F. Hayes to assess mediation effects. The findings revealed that workplace incivility has a significant positive relation with negative rumination and negative relation with work engagement. Negative rumination further displayed a significant negative association with work engagement. Moreover, results confirmed that the relation between workplace incivility and work engagement is partially mediated by negative rumination. This study advances the existing body of knowledge by uncovering negative rumination as a key psychological construct via which workplace incivility undermines work engagement. The findings offer valuable practical insights for organizations aiming to trim down the harmful effects of workplace incivility and foster greater work engagement.