Incivility at work, upset at home? Testing the cross-level moderation effect of emotional dysregulation among female nurses from primary health care.

ABSTRACT

Workplace incivility is a growing problem in nursing. However, most studies that explore this psychosocial risk and its consequences do so considering a single level and a between-person perspective. The aims of the study were to explore whether the effects of experiencing incivility during work-time could explain the daily levels of well-being of nurses at home; and to analyze if that relationship could be moderated by their levels of emotional dysregulation as a trait. This is a multilevel study with diary methodology. The study was carried out in 18 primary health-care centers belonging to Madrid and the Basque Country, in Spain. Ninety-four nurses completed a general questionnaire and 54 of them a diary booklet over five consecutive working days in two different moments, immediately after work and at bedtime. The results showed that nurses' emotional dysregulation moderated the relationship between daily workplace incivility and daily fatigue, and positive affect at night at home. However, there were no direct effects of daily incivility on these outcome variables. In conclusion, the presence of difficulties in emotional regulation among nurses can increase the negative effects of daily workplace incivility on their health and well-being.