Abstract
Drawing on conservation resources theory, this study examined the relationships between customer incivility, supervisor incivility, and job performance. The study also investigated the mediating role of psychological distress and the moderating role of mindfulness in the above relationships. The findings, based on a data set collected from frontline employees working at an airport terminal in Vietnam, showed that psychological distress mediated the impacts of both customer incivility and supervisor incivility on extra-role performance but not on in-role performance. Finally, mindfulness mitigated the negative effects of both customer incivility and supervisor incivility on psychological distress. These findings offer a number of implications for theory and practice.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11628-024-00565-z/MediaObjects/11628_2024_565_Fig1_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.
References
Al-Hawari MA, Bani-Melhem S, Quratulain S (2020) Do frontline employees cope effectively with abusive supervision and customer incivility? Testing the effect of employee resilience. J Bus Psychol 35:223–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10869-019-09621-2
Al-Zyoud MF, Mert İS (2019) Does employees’ psychological capital buffer the negative effects of incivility? EuroMed J Bus 14:239–250. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-03-2018-0021
Andersson LM, Pearson CM (1999) Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Acad Manage Rev 24:452–471. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1999.2202131
Arasli H, Hejraty NB, Abubakar AM (2018) Workplace incivility as a moderator of the relationships between polychronicity and job outcomes. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 30:1245–1272. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2016-0655
Arnold K (2021) “Treat me with respect”: weary airline workers beg passengers to stay calm during holiday travel. The Dallas Morning News, Dallas
Arnold KA, Walsh MM (2015) Customer incivility and employee well-being: testing the moderating effects of meaning, perspective taking and transformational leadership. Work Stress 29:362–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2015.1075234
Ateljevic I (2020) Transforming the (tourism) world for good and (re)generating the potential ‘new normal.’ Tour Geogr 22:467–475. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1759134
Auh S, Menguc B, Thompson FM, Uslu A (2022) Conflict-solving as a mediator between customer incivility and service performance. Serv Ind J 2022:1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2022.2094916
Bowling NA, Beehr TA (2006) Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: a theoretical model and meta-analysis. J Appl Psychol 91:998–1012. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.998
Brislin RW (1970) Back-translation for cross-cultural research. J Cross Cult Psychol 1:185–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910457000100301
Carrión GC, Nitzl C, Roldán JL (2017) Mediation analyses in partial least squares structural equation modeling: guidelines and empirical examples. In: Latan H, Noonan R (eds) Partial least squares path modeling: basic concepts, methodological issues and applications. Springer, Cham, pp 173–195
Chen H, Wang C, Chen H, Wang C (2019) Incivility, satisfaction and turnover intention of tourist hotel chefs: moderating effects of emotional intelligence. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 31:2034–2053. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2018-0164
Cheng B, Dong Y, Zhou X et al (2020) Does customer incivility undermine employees’ service performance? Int J Hosp Manage 89:102544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102544
Cho M, Bonn MA, Han SJ, Lee KH (2016) Workplace incivility and its effect upon restaurant frontline service employee emotions and service performance. Int J Contemp Hosp Manag 28:2888–2912. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-04-2015-0205
Cortina LM, Magley VJ (2001) Incivility in the workplace: incidence and impact. J Occup Health Psychol 6:64–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.6.1.64
Costers A, Van Vaerenbergh Y, Van den Broeck A (2019) How to boost frontline employee service recovery performance: the role of cultural intelligence. Serv Bus 13:581–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-019-00396-3
Drapeau A, Marchand A, Beaulieu-Prevost D (2012) Epidemiology of psychological distress. In: Labate L (ed) Mental illnesses—understanding, prediction and control. InTech, Rijeka, pp 105–134
Fisher DM, Kerr A, Cunningham S (2019) Examining the moderating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between job stressors and strain outcomes. Int J Stress Manag 26:78–88. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000090
Fisk P (2009) Customer genius: becoming a customer-centric business. Capstone, Chichester
Gaan N, Shin Y (2023) Supervisor incivility and frontline employees’ performance amid the Covid-19 pandemic: a multilevel moderated mediation analysis. J Retail Consum Serv 73:103347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103347
Glomb TM, Duffy MK, Bono JE, Yang T (2011) Mindfulness at work. Res Pers Hum Resour Manag 30:115–157. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-7301(2011)0000030005
Grover SL, Teo STT, Pick D, Roche M (2016) Mindfulness as a personal resource to reduce work stress in the job demands-resources model. Stress Health 33:426–436. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2726
Gruber T (2011) I want to believe they really care: How complaining customers want to be treated by frontline employees. J Serv Manag 22:85–110. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564231111106938
Hair JF, Anderson RE, Tatham RL, Black WC (1998) Multivariate data analysis, 5th edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Han SJ, Bonn MA, Cho M (2016) The relationship between customer incivility, restaurant frontline service employee burnout and turnover intention. Int J Hosp Manag 52:97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.10.002
Hayes AF (2017) Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York
Hershcovis MS, Cameron A-F, Gervais L, Bozeman J (2018) The effects of confrontation and avoidance co** in response to workplace incivility. J Occup Health Psychol 23:163–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000078
Hobfoll SE (1989) Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am Psychol 44:513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Hur WM, Moon TW, Kim M (2021) Impact of managerial control on the relationship between customer incivility and frontline employees’ up-selling behavior. Serv Bus 15:639–665. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-021-00457-6
Jang J, Jo WM, Kim JS (2020) Can employee workplace mindfulness counteract the indirect effects of customer incivility on proactive service performance through work engagement? A moderated mediation model. J Hosp Mark Manag 29:812–829. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2020.1725954
Jawahar I, Schreurs B (2018) Supervisor incivility and how it affects subordinates’ performance: a matter of trust. Pers Rev 47:709–726. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-01-2017-0022
Kaushal V, Srivastava S (2021) Hospitality and tourism industry amid covid-19 pandemic: perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. Int J Hosp Manag 92:102707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102707
Kessler RC, Green JG, Gruber MJ et al (2010) Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 19:4–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.310
Lebrun A-M, Corbel R, Bouchet P (2022) Impacts of Covid-19 on travel intention for summer 2020: a trend in proximity tourism mediated by an attitude towards Covid-19. Serv Bus 16:469–501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-021-00450-z
Liang LH, Brown DJ (2016) Abusive leadership. In: Farazmand A (ed) Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance. Springer, Cham, pp 1–7
Lim S, Lee A (2011) Work and nonwork outcomes of workplace incivility: does family support help? J Occup Health Psychol 16:95–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021726
Liu W, Zhou ZE, Che XX (2018) Effect of workplace incivility on OCB through burnout: the moderating role of affective commitment. J Bus Psychol 34:657–669. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9591-4
Mohamad M, Afthanorhan A, Awang Z, Mohammad M (2019) Comparison between CB-SEM and PLS-SEM: testing and confirming the Maqasid Syariah quality of life measurement model. J Soc Sci Res 5:608–614. https://doi.org/10.32861/jssr.53.608.614
Moon C, Morais C (2022) Understanding the consequences of workplace incivility: the roles of emotional exhaustion, acceptability and political skill. Int J Confl Manag 33:425–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-09-2021-0147
Netemeyer RG, Maxham JG (2007) Employee versus supervisor ratings of performance in the retail customer service sector: differences in predictive validity for customer outcomes. J Retail 83:131–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2006.10.009
Norberg PA (2017) Employee incentive programs: recipient behaviors in points, cash, and gift card programs. Perform Improv Q 29:375–388. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21233
Osman A, Lamis DA, Bagge CL et al (2015) The mindful attention awareness scale: further examination of dimensionality, reliability, and concurrent validity estimates. J Pers Assess 98:189–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2015.1095761
Ozturk A, Karatepe OM, Okumus F (2021) The effect of servant leadership on hotel employees’ behavioral consequences: work engagement versus job satisfaction. Int J Hosp Manag 97:102994. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJHM.2021.102994
Penney LM, Spector PE (2005) Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): the moderating role of negative affectivity. J Organ Behav 26:777–796. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.336
Podsakoff PM, Organ DW (1986) Self-reports in organizational research: problems and prospects. J Manage 12:531–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408
Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY, Podsakoff NP (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol 88:879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Podsakoff NP, LePine JA, LePine MA (2007) Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior: a meta-analysis. J Appl Psychol 92:438–454. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.438
Rai A, Ghosh P, Chauhan R, Singh R (2018) Improving in-role and extra-role performances with rewards and recognition. Manag Res Rev 41:902–919. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-12-2016-0280
Rank J, Carsten JM, Unger JM, Spector PE (2007) Proactive customer service performance: relationships with individual, task, and leadership variables. Hum Perform 20:363–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959280701522056
Rhee SY, Hur WM, Kim M (2017) The relationship of coworker incivility to job performance and the moderating role of self-efficacy and compassion at work: the job demands-resources (JD-R) approach. J Bus Psychol 32:711–726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9469-2
Ridner SH (2004) Psychological distress: concept analysis. J Adv Nurs 45:536–545. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02938.x
Riketta M (2002) Attitudinal organizational commitment and job performance: a meta-analysis. J Organ Behav 23:257–266. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.141
Rupp DE, Cropanzano R (2002) The mediating effects of social exchange relationships in predicting workplace outcomes from multifoci organizational justice. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 89:925–946. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-5978(02)00036-5
Sakurai K, Jex SM (2012) Coworker incivility and incivility targets’ work effort and counterproductive work behaviors: the moderating role of supervisor social support. J Occup Health Psychol 17:150–161. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027350
Saleem F, Malik MI, Asif I, Qasim A (2022) Workplace incivility and employee performance: does trust in supervisors matter? (a dual theory perspective). Behav Sci 12:513. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12120513
Sarstedt M, Ringle CM, Hair JF (2017) Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In: Homburg C, Klarmann M, Vomberg A (eds) Handbook of market research. Springer, Cham, pp 1–40
Schilpzand P, De Pater IE, Erez A (2016) Workplace incivility: a review of the literature and agenda for future research. J Organ Behav 37:s57–s88. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1976
Shin Y, Lee EJ, Hur W (2021) Supervisor incivility, job insecurity, and service performance among flight attendants: the buffering role of co-worker support. Curr Issues Tour 25:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1905618
Shin Y, Hur WM, Hwang H (2022) Impacts of customer incivility and abusive supervision on employee performance: a comparative study of the pre- and post- Covid-19 periods. Serv Bus 16:309–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-021-00456-7
Sliter M, Jex S, Wolford K, McInnerney J (2010) How rude! Emotional labor as a mediator between customer incivility and employee outcomes. J Occup Health Psychol 15:468–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020723
Sommovigo V, Setti I, Argentero P, O’Shea D (2019) The impact of customer incivility and verbal aggression on service providers: a systematic review. Work 62:59–86. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-182842
Song C, Jang S, Wiggins J, Nowlin E (2019) Does haste always make waste? Service quantity, service quality, and incentives in speed-intensive service firms. Serv Bus 13:289–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-018-0383-8
Spector PE, Fox S (2002) An emotion-centered model of voluntary work behavior. Some parallels between counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. Hum Resour Manag Rev 12:269–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1053-4822(02)00049-9
Spector PE, Jex SM (1998) Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: interpersonal conflict at work scale, organizational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. J Occup Health Psychol 3:356–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.4.356
Tarraf RC, McLarnon MJW, Finegan JE (2019) Dispositional mindfulness buffers against incivility outcomes: a moderated mediation model. Pers Individ Differ 138:140–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.035
Vonderlin R, Biermann M, Bohus M, Lyssenko L (2020) Mindfulness-based programs in the workplace: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Mindfulness 11:1579–1598. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01328-3
Voorhees CM, Fombelle PW, Bone SA (2020) Don’t forget about the frontline employee during the COVID-19 pandemic: preliminary insights and a research agenda on market shocks. J Serv Res 23:363–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520944606
Wang CH, Chen HT (2020) Relationships among workplace incivility, work engagement and job performance. J Hosp Tour Insights 3:415–429. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-09-2019-0105
Weiss HM, Cropanzano R (1996) Affective events theory: a theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. Res Organ Behav 18:1–74. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483386874.n10
Woodworth RJ, O’Brien-Malone A, Diamond MR, Schüz B (2016) Happy days: positive psychology interventions effects on affect in an N-of-1 trial. Int J Clin Health Psychol 16:21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2015.07.006
Yavas U, Karatepe OM, Babakus E (2011) Do customer orientation and job resourcefulness moderate the impact of interrole conflicts on frontline employees’ performance? Tour Hosp Res 11:148–159. https://doi.org/10.1057/thr.2010.25
Yoon DJ (2022) Rude customers and service performance: roles of motivation and personality. Serv Ind J 42:81–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2020.1826453
Zhang H, Zhou ZE, Zhang L et al (2023) How customer mistreatment hinders employee sleep quality and next-morning vigor: the effects of affective rumination and mindfulness. Appl Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12507
Zhu JN, Lam LW, Lai JY (2019) Returning good for evil: a study of customer incivility and extra-role customer service. Int J Hosp Manag 81:65–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.03.004
Acknowdgements
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments contributing to improve the quality of the paper.
Funding
This research is supported by UEH University under the Grant No. 2024-05-06-2257.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Tam, D.U., Trang, N.T.M. Customer and supervisor incivility, psychological distress, and job performance among airport frontline employees: the moderating role of mindfulness. Serv Bus (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-024-00565-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-024-00565-z