Investigating Workplace Mistreatment Through the Lens of Various Actors : Exploring Incivility in Physical and Digital Meetings: Associations with Work Motivation and Social Support
(2026) European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference 17. p.227-229- Abstract (Swedish)
- Background: Workplace incivility — low-intensity negative behaviours that violate norms of respect— has been identified as a pervasive workplace stressor in contemporary working life, linked to several detrimental outcomes for employees and organizations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, work life has become increasingly digitalized and video meetings have been normalized, raising questions about how incivility manifests in virtual contexts. Despite growing
attention to digital work environments, little is known about how incivility in physical versus digital meetings relates to the quality of work motivation, including amotivation, controlled motivation, and autonomous motivation. Moreover, the potential mediating role of social support... (More) - Background: Workplace incivility — low-intensity negative behaviours that violate norms of respect— has been identified as a pervasive workplace stressor in contemporary working life, linked to several detrimental outcomes for employees and organizations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, work life has become increasingly digitalized and video meetings have been normalized, raising questions about how incivility manifests in virtual contexts. Despite growing
attention to digital work environments, little is known about how incivility in physical versus digital meetings relates to the quality of work motivation, including amotivation, controlled motivation, and autonomous motivation. Moreover, the potential mediating role of social support from coworkers and supervisors remains underexplored. This study aimed to (1) examine employees’ experiences of incivility in physical and digital meetings, (2) explore how
such experiences relate to different forms of work motivation, and (3) investigate whether social support mediates these associations.
Method: A total of 279 participants (133 men, 142 women, 4 other/prefer not to say; Mean age = 40, SD = 15) working across diverse sectors in Sweden completed a digital questionnaire distributed via e-mail during the first half of 2025. Participants responded online at their own convenience. Physical and digital workplace incivility were measured using adapted versions of
the Workplace Incivility Scale, work motivation was assessed with the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (distinguishing controlled, autonomous, and amotivation dimensions), and social support was measured separately for coworkers and supervisors. Correlations and path analyses were conducted to test main and indirect effects.
Results: Physical and digital incivility were strongly correlated, indicating that employees experiencing one form often encountered the other. Both were bivariately related to higher amotivation, though these effects were more nuanced in the full path model. Incivility in physical meetings was uniquely associated with lower levels of perceived social support from both coworkers and supervisors. In turn, coworker support was positively related to autonomous motivation and negatively to amotivation. However, the bootstrapped indirect
effects from physical incivility to the motivation forms via coworker support were not significant. Digital incivility was directly linked to higher amotivation, while no substantial associations emerged with neither autonomous nor controlled motivation.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that incivility in physical and digital meetings possibly can be harmful in different ways. Physical incivility could potentially undermine perceived support in the workplace, whereas digital incivility may be directly detrimental to work motivation, primarily by increasing amotivation. Conversely, the results indicate that coworker support could possibly
foster more self-determined forms of motivation. Future research could employ experimental designs to test causal effects and examine whether digital and physical forms of incivility differ in their motivational impact, as well as which mechanisms that underlie such an association. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/a3d33fac-2d1d-4d32-b4b6-d665cec69775
- author
- Jungert, Tomas LU ; Holm, Kristoffer and Trépanier, Sarah-Geneviève
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06-16
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Book of proceedings 17th EAOHP conference 2026 : Mental health at work: From research to policy practice - Mental health at work: From research to policy practice
- volume
- 17
- pages
- 227 - 229
- publisher
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP)
- conference name
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference
- conference location
- Helsinki, Finland
- conference dates
- 2026-06-15 - 2026-06-17
- ISBN
- 978-1-918696-00-4
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a3d33fac-2d1d-4d32-b4b6-d665cec69775
- alternative location
- https://eaohp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/EAOHP-BoP-Helsinki-2026.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-04 11:56:50
- date last changed
- 2026-08-07 15:20:30
@inproceedings{a3d33fac-2d1d-4d32-b4b6-d665cec69775,
abstract = {{Background: Workplace incivility — low-intensity negative behaviours that violate norms of respect— has been identified as a pervasive workplace stressor in contemporary working life, linked to several detrimental outcomes for employees and organizations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, work life has become increasingly digitalized and video meetings have been normalized, raising questions about how incivility manifests in virtual contexts. Despite growing <br/>attention to digital work environments, little is known about how incivility in physical versus digital meetings relates to the quality of work motivation, including amotivation, controlled motivation, and autonomous motivation. Moreover, the potential mediating role of social support from coworkers and supervisors remains underexplored. This study aimed to (1) examine employees’ experiences of incivility in physical and digital meetings, (2) explore how <br/>such experiences relate to different forms of work motivation, and (3) investigate whether social support mediates these associations. <br/>Method: A total of 279 participants (133 men, 142 women, 4 other/prefer not to say; Mean age = 40, SD = 15) working across diverse sectors in Sweden completed a digital questionnaire distributed via e-mail during the first half of 2025. Participants responded online at their own convenience. Physical and digital workplace incivility were measured using adapted versions of <br/>the Workplace Incivility Scale, work motivation was assessed with the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (distinguishing controlled, autonomous, and amotivation dimensions), and social support was measured separately for coworkers and supervisors. Correlations and path analyses were conducted to test main and indirect effects. <br/>Results: Physical and digital incivility were strongly correlated, indicating that employees experiencing one form often encountered the other. Both were bivariately related to higher amotivation, though these effects were more nuanced in the full path model. Incivility in physical meetings was uniquely associated with lower levels of perceived social support from both coworkers and supervisors. In turn, coworker support was positively related to autonomous motivation and negatively to amotivation. However, the bootstrapped indirect <br/>effects from physical incivility to the motivation forms via coworker support were not significant. Digital incivility was directly linked to higher amotivation, while no substantial associations emerged with neither autonomous nor controlled motivation. <br/>Conclusion: The findings suggest that incivility in physical and digital meetings possibly can be harmful in different ways. Physical incivility could potentially undermine perceived support in the workplace, whereas digital incivility may be directly detrimental to work motivation, primarily by increasing amotivation. Conversely, the results indicate that coworker support could possibly <br/>foster more self-determined forms of motivation. Future research could employ experimental designs to test causal effects and examine whether digital and physical forms of incivility differ in their motivational impact, as well as which mechanisms that underlie such an association.}},
author = {{Jungert, Tomas and Holm, Kristoffer and Trépanier, Sarah-Geneviève}},
booktitle = {{Book of proceedings 17th EAOHP conference 2026 : Mental health at work: From research to policy practice}},
isbn = {{978-1-918696-00-4}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
pages = {{227--229}},
publisher = {{European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP)}},
title = {{Investigating Workplace Mistreatment Through the Lens of Various Actors : Exploring Incivility in Physical and Digital Meetings: Associations with Work Motivation and Social Support}},
url = {{https://eaohp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/EAOHP-BoP-Helsinki-2026.pdf}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2026}},
}