Subjective well-being in the relationship between workaholism and workplace incivility: the moderating role of gender

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the mediating role of subjective well-being (SWB) in the relationship workaholism and workplace incivility with an emphasis on the moderating role of gender.Design/methodology/approachUsing an online survey, the required data were collected from 401 employees in 41 public organizations in Iran.FindingsBy structural equation modeling, the results showed workaholism has a negative direct association with workplace incivility. Additionally, SWB mediates the relationships between workaholism and workplace incivility. Moreover, workaholic men and women are more likely to experience higher workplace incivility and lower SWB, respectively.Practical implicationsManagers should focus on reducing workaholism and developing SWB to decrease uncivil behaviors. Researchers need to assess the different instigators of incivility, considering the mediating or moderating role of other variables in private organizations.Social implicationsThe stress of workaholism, coupled with the harsh conditions of economic sanctions in Iran, has exacerbated the occurrence of incivility behavior. This study helps to reduce and control such behaviors by examining the role of SWB and gender.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the research on incivility behavior by advancing the understanding of organizational and personal factors (workaholism and SWB) that can influence workplace incivility among employees. It also addresses the usefulness of examining SWB disposition in understanding the relationship between workaholism and workplace incivility.