Purpose: This study was conducted with two main objectives: (1) to examine the prevalence of workplace loneliness in the Indian manufacturing and service sectors (2) to examine the influence of socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, nature of the organization, tenure, number of friends at the workplace, and position in the organizational hierarchy) on the feeling of loneliness in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 934 employees working in manufacturing and service sectors across India. Regression analysis was used for hypotheses testing. Findings: Findings indicated below average level of loneliness in Indian workplace. Significant differences were found in workplace loneliness with respect to age, marital status and number of friends at the workplace. In contrast, gender, nature of organization, position and tenure had no effect on the feeling of workplace loneliness. Originality/value: This study advances the limited literature on workplace loneliness by identifying its prevalence and socio-demographic determinants in Indian business organizations. It would help HR practitioners in comprehending and dealing with the emerging challenges associated with workplace loneliness.

This study aimed to examine how and when the practice of workplace spirituality fosters a civil work atmosphere in the Indian hotel industry. Grounded in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and theory of threatened egotism and aggression (Baumeister et al., 1996), ethical climate was proposed to mediate the relationship of workplace spirituality with instigated and experienced incivility, and narcissism was hypothesized to moderate this mediated linkage. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of hotel employees in India using a time-lagged two-study investigation. The findings revealed that workplace spirituality relates negatively with instigated as well as experienced incivility and this relationship is mediated by ethical climate. Nevertheless, the relationship between workplace spirituality and incivility via ethical climate was not the same for all employees. The indirect effect of workplace spirituality on instigated and experienced incivility was stronger for employees with high narcissistic characteristics. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an empirical account of the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of workplace incivility (experienced and instigated) in the Indian workplace. Design/methodology/approach: The study sample consisted of 1,133 employees working in service organizations mainly banks, hotels, academic institutions and information technology firms. The authors tested the proposed model on the same set of respondents in two different studies. The phenomenon of instigated incivility and its determinants were examined in Study 1, while Study 2 looked at experienced incivility and its antecedents. The data were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical operations in SPSS 24. Findings: The results of both studies revealed that employees’ age, gender, educational qualification, position, nature of the organization, type of the organization and duration of working hours significantly predict the onset of workplace incivility. Nevertheless, marital status and tenure failed to predict the manifestation of uncivil behaviors in the organization. Research limitations/implications: The scope of this study was restricted to the Indian service sector with a focus on only two types of workplace incivility (instigated and experienced). Practical implications: The managers are advised to be mindful of employees’ socio-demographic differences while devising interventions to tackle the issues of uncivil acts at work. Originality/value: This study is one of the pioneer attempts to explore the impact of socio-demographic factors on employees’ tendency to instigate and experience incivility at work in India. In doing so, the study enriches the scant literature on workplace incivility by establishing the role of individual differences in determining the occurrence of incivility in the workplace.

Management scholars view workplace spirituality as an effective means of improving employee well-being and organizational productivity. However, a spiritual work environment may also be beneficial for controlling employees’ experiences of uncivil behaviors in the workplace. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and cognitive appraisal theory, we proposed and explored the linkage between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from supervisors and colleagues in the workspace. We also investigated the moderating effect of the dark triad on the relationship. The data collected from two different samples (Sample 1—Banking industry, N = 225, and Sample 2—Information Technology (IT) industry, N = 220) provided support for our hypotheses. In both studies, we found a significant negative correlation between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from the two sources (supervisors and colleagues). While only psychopathy moderated the linkage between workplace spirituality and supervisor incivility in Sample 1, the moderation effect of all three dark traits was significant in case of colleague incivility. In Sample 2, each member of the dark triad moderated the association between workplace spirituality and incivility experienced from seniors and peers. The findings provided support for the cognitive appraisal theory by explaining how the practice of workplace spirituality alters employees’ perceptions of uncivil behaviors shown by their superiors and peers. The study makes a significant contribution to theory, research, and practice by presenting workplace spirituality as a solution to the ever-rising epidemic of incivility in the workplace.

Workplace incivility is a pervasive phenomenon in today's organizations. Given its financial and psychological costs for the employers and employees (Schilpzand, De Pater, & Erez, 2016), it is important to explore and identify the factors that trigger the instigation of workplace incivility. Drawing on insights from past literature on negative workplace behaviors, the present study investigates the linkage between Dark Triad personality traits and instigated incivility to supervisors and colleagues at work. Based on the assumptions of social control theory (Hirschi, 1969), the study also examines the moderating effect of workplace spirituality on these relationships using samples from academic institutions (N = 350) and hotel industry (N = 338). Among Dark Triad, Machiavellianism emerged as the most significant predictor of instigated incivility. Workplace spirituality moderated the association of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism with instigated incivility to supervisors and colleagues. While workplace spirituality enhanced the tendency to instigate incivility among employees exhibiting high levels of Machiavellianism, it reduced the propensity to instigate uncivil acts for employees high on the traits of narcissism and psychopathy.