Workplace Incivility and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour of Employees

ABSTRACT

The study examined the relationship between workplace incivility and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in selected tertiary institutions in Edo State. Workplace incivility variables that were investigated include gossiping, hostility, exclusionary behaviour, and privacy invasion. Cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for this study. The population of this study covers all academic and non-academic staff of University of Benin, Ambrose Alli University, and Auchi Polytechnic. A sample of 388 was proportionally taken from the three institutions. 388 copies of questionnaire were administered while 336 copies of the questionnaire were found to be valid and usable. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics to ascertain the respondents’ perceptions on the variables of interest while Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the relationships among the research variables and test the stated research hypotheses. All tests were performed at a 5% level of significance using SPSS software. The study found that gossiping, hostility and exclusionary behaviour have adverse (negative) and significant impact on OCB in tertiary institutions in Edo State. It was also found that a negative and non-statistically significant relationship exists between privacy invasion and OCB in tertiary institutions in Edo State. The ANOVA test conducted to establish whether significant differences exist among the variables based on employees’ institutions revealed a statistically significant different among the three institutions. The study recommends fostering a culture of respect, gratitude, and thoughtfulness to inspire employees to engage in OCB.