The Moderated Effect of Power Distance within the Context of Leadership Ostracism and Workplace Incivility

Description

Page: 453-460

Bonga Blessing Mdletshe¹ and Sayed Sami Muzafary² (School of Development Studies, University of Mpumalanga, South Africa¹ and Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan²)

Workplace incivility and leadership ostracism remain prevalent and pressing issues that significantly impact organisational dynamics and employee well-being. In this study, the moderating influence of power distance on the relationship between leadership ostracism and incivility at work was examined. Specifically, it explores how shifting levels of power distance influence the severity and perception of incivility when employees are subjected to ostracism by their leaders. Understanding the role of power distance is essential for organisations to develop effective leadership strategies and foster a respectful and inclusive workplace environment, particularly in a diverse work environment. This research was based on the theory of organisational justice, specifically interactional justice, which addresses the standard of interpersonal treatment that workers receive at work. The emphasis of interactional justice is that employees deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and that perception of injustices leads to negative workplace outcomes. Data was gathered from 848 respondents using a survey questionnaire, and analysis was done using SPSS. The results reveal that workplace incivility and leadership ostracism are positively correlated, meaning that when leaders reject their subordinates, those subordinates are likely to respond with incivility. Furthermore, the findings also show that the interaction between leadership ostracism and workplace incivility is significantly moderated by power distance. The emphasis on the findings is that an increase in ostracism leads to a corresponding increase in workplace incivility, suggesting that employees react negatively and perhaps retaliate when they perceive ostracism from their leaders. The findings of this study bridge the gap between leadership studies and the literature on workplace incivility, demonstrating how specific leadership behaviours (ostracism) can trigger negative workplace outcomes (incivility).