A Phenomenological Study: Retail Employees, Specifically Cashier's Lived Experiences of Workplace Incivility

Abstract

Workplace incivility (WI), a growing global epidemic, can progress to workplace crime. The confusing aspect is that WI has ten different definitions with overlapping terms. This investigative study revealed a significant gap in former literature reviews to fully understand retail employees, specifically, cashiers’ lived experiences of WI. The researcher interviewed five participants from three regions in the United States and Africa. A qualitative method and phenomenological design produced an essence called workplace injustice from the first five core themes and 15 subthemes. The essence of experiences links the entire study together through relationships, situations, and theories. WI continues in retail for numerous reasons, such as ignoring the problem, no accountability, pressure, lack of kindness, a non-re-cap policy, fear of losing their job, and the customer is always right. Participants felt horrible, used, and undervalued. Individuals often blame outside forces for their problems; however, the individual and the cause of their problems are all included in one single system, systems thinking. Nevertheless, individuals have a powerful choice to act civil or uncivil. The findings demonstrate that WI in corporate organizational cultures is linked to professional learning communities. The sixth and seventh themes prevent, stop, decrease, or eliminate WI, which is conducive to Ethical Leadership, LMX Theory, Kurt Lewin's Change Management process, Social Learning Theory, the Learning Organization, and the new idea of MLTP. If the sixth and seventh themes are not taught when the virus No One’s Doing Anything occurs. WI will continue to infect the workplace and society as an incurable disease (Oxford University Press, 2006).