Put You Down Versus Tune You Out: Further Understanding Active and Passive E-mail Incivility

Although e-mail incivility is becoming a growing concern in the workplace, it remains an understudied topic. Scholars have paid inadequate attention to its dimensionality (i.e., active and passive e-mail incivility) and its impact on well-being outcomes, thus precluding a more comprehensive understanding of its implications in the workplace. To address these gaps, we conducted two studies to investigate the nature and outcomes of e-mail incivility. In Study 1, we surveyed a sample of working employees about their e-mail incivility experiences at work and collected their appraisals of a discrete e-mail incivility event. Confirmatory factor analysis results provide support for the empirical distinction between the 2 dimensions. Findings from event-level appraisals highlight that active e-mail incivility leads to a greater level of emotionality appraisal, whereas passive e-mail incivility is viewed as more ambiguous. In Study 2, we conducted a diary study to examine the spillover effects of e-mail incivility on well-being. Multilevel modeling results indicate that passive e-mail incivility is positively associated with insomnia, which then leads to heightened negative affect at the beginning of the workday. Overall, this research clarifies the nature of e-mail incivility dimensions, highlights their detrimental effects on employee well-being, and identifies important implications for occupational health scholars and practitioners.