Hospital nurses experiencing day‐to‐day workplace incivility: A diary study on the benefits of daily social support

Aim The present study investigated the adverse effects of daily experienced incivility and the positive role of daily social support during the workday in predicting daily emotional exhaustion after work and vitality and positive affect at bedtime. Background Despite the broad knowledge of the impact of experienced incivility in different occupations, little is known about day-to-day nurse incivility, much less in the hospital context. Method After completing a general questionnaire, hospital nurses (n = 96) completed a diary questionnaire twice a day for five consecutive workdays (n = 480 diary observations). The diary design had two levels: 5-day repeated measures (Level 1, day-level) nested in persons (Level 2, person-level) using an experience-sampling methodology. Results Multilevel hierarchical analyses showed that incivility during the workday increased emotional exhaustion after work (t = 3.00*) and reduced vitality (t = -2.48*) and positive affect (t = -2.23*) at bedtime. However, daily social support during the workday was a crucial job resource that directly benefited hospital nurses' daily wellbeing (t = 5.19** vitality; t = 4.89** positive affect) and buffered the adverse effects of daily workplace incivility (t = -2.33*). Conclusion The within-person approach of our findings suggests that supportive practices can reduce day-to-day incivility spirals. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers can promote a civility culture within their units using in service training programs at work.