22555: How Customer Incivility Undermines Career Crafting: A Moderated Mediation Model (session 26217)

Monday, July 28, 2025

17:15 - 18:45 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: Hall B- B5-m4

Session Type: Paper Session
Orientation: Practice,Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/gandWE

Author(s)

DL

Duoran Liu

Renmin University of China, China
HT

Hongkun Tang

Renmin University of China, China
BL

Ben Nanfeng Luo

Renmin University of China, China
JY

Jean Fan Yang

-, China
XA

Xin Ai

Renmin University of China, China
YC

Yilin Chen

Renmin University of China, China
ZM

Zhiou Ma

Renmin University of China, China
SW

Simeng Wang

Renmin University of China, China
yy

yanxian yi

Renmin University of China, China

This study aims to explore how customer incivility, a ubiquitous unpleasant experience among service workers, impacts employees’ career crafting behavior. We intend to examine the mediating role of career adaptability and the moderating role of social sharing of negative work events, using career construction theory as the theoretical framework. A three-wave survey study was conducted among call-center employees in China, yielding a final sample of 234 valid respondents. Our findings reveal that customer incivility negatively impacts call center employees’ career crafting through the career adaptability, which is moderated by social sharing of negative work events, with higher levels of social sharing mitigating the adverse impact. This study makes three key contributions. First, it expands the understanding of career crafting by identifying customer incivility as a significant antecedent, addressing the research gap in career crafting behavior. Second, it advances Career Construction Theory by exploring how customer incivility depletes career adaptability resources, thus hampering proactive career behaviors. Third, it highlights the social sharing of negative work events as an effective coping mechanism that buffers the negative impact of customer incivility on career adaptability, contributing to the broader discussion on managing negative work experiences through employee-driven strategies.

view paper (if available)