ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the potential of attachment theory to contribute to explaining individual variations among members of workgroups in their perception of and reaction to workplace? incivility. It also explores attachment styles as a personal quality that could clarify part of the variation among members of workgroups in their evaluation of their workgroup's civility. The central proposition is that attachment styles impose a filter over employees' perceptions of social encounters and their subsequent participation in the social life of their workgroup. The development of a short measure of workplace attachment styles opens possibilities for research on the interaction of person and situation in the occurrence of incivility in contemporary workplaces. The short workplace attachment measure was developed to address noticeable gap in workplace attachment styles. Self determination theory proposes three core social motives: belonging, autonomy, and efficacy. Attachment anxiety works directly counter to confirming a sense of efficacy.