Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Dispositional mindfulness buffers against incivility outcomes: A moderated mediation model Rima C. Tarraf a, ⁎ , Matthew J.W. McLarnon b , Joan E. Finegan c a Health Systems Evaluation and Evidence, Alberta Health Services, Canada b Department of Psychology, Oakland University, United States of America c Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Workplace incivility Stress Forgiveness Mindfulness Moderated mediation ABSTRACT Rude treatment at work can reduce employees' well-being, underscoring the need for ways to offset negative outcomes. The current study explored the role of dispositional mindfulness as a buffering mechanism that may mitigate the negative relation between incivility and well-being, and promote forgiveness toward the perpetrator via decreased rumination and negative affect. A cross-sectional sample of employed individuals (n = 288) completed self-report measures of incivility, dispositional mindfulness, negative affect, rumination, stress, and forgiveness. Results of moderated mediation analyses showed that the mindfulness facets of non-judging and acting with awareness buffered against stress and promoted forgiveness via decreased negative affect. Additionally, being able to describe one's feelings, a facet of mindfulness, buffered against stress and promoted forgiveness via decreased rumination. Results provide support for adopting a multidimensional framework of dispositional mindfulness, as distinct facets differentially predicted outcomes. Non-judging, acting with awareness, and describing may serve as resources against the experience of rude treatment. 1. Introduction Experiencing rude behavior from colleagues, supervisors, or sub- ordinates is a common occurrence. Workplace incivility, or rude be- havior at work, is a form of interpersonal mistreatment consisting of three characteristics: violation of workplace norms and respect, am- biguous intent to harm, and low intensity (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). Examples include talking down to others, not listening when somebody is talking to you, and ignoring someone. One of the major outcomes of incivility is decreased well-being. Employees commonly report lower job satisfaction, greater turnover intentions, and higher burnout after experiencing incivility (Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001). Workplace incivility is also associated with embarrassment and greater perceived job insecurity (Hershcovis, Ogunfowora, Reich, & Christie, 2017). Consequences of incivility can also extend beyond the work- place; for example, Lim and Lee (2011) reported that incivility from one's supervisor was positively associated with work-to-family conflict. Due to the many negative effects of incivility, researchers have ex- plored ways to buffer against them. The current study further con- tributes to this endeavor by investigating the moderating role of dis- positional mindfulness facets (defined below). Specifically, we examined whether dispositional mindfulness mitigates stress via reductions in negative affect and rumination. Furthermore, previous researchers have often focused on negative reactions to incivility such as retaliation and/or revenge. But recent calls have been made to consider other potential reactions like forgiveness or reconciliation (Hershcovis & Cameron, 2011). As such, we also considered how mindfulness might promote forgiveness as a response to incivility. 1.1. Theoretical background The outcomes associated with incivility are often understood through resource-based theories like conservation of resource theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989). Drawing upon COR, incivility is considered a stressor that depletes employees' resources, and results in strain, which can take the form of increased distress and impaired functioning. A crucial facet of COR is the importance of gaining resources and/or reducing stressors. Accordingly, research has explored moderating variables that can buffer against incivility. Moderators can serve pro- tective functions for individuals experiencing incivility, which can allow for effective coping and reduced stress (Chen et al., 2013). In this study, we expected that several of the facets of dispositional mind- fulness would moderate the negative effects of incivility. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.035 Received 10 April 2018; Received in revised form 20 August 2018; Accepted 21 September 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Health Systems Evaluation and Evidence, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. E-mail address: RimaC.Tarraf@ahs.ca (R.C. Tarraf). Personality and Individual Differences 138 (2019) 140–146 Available online 27 September 2018 0191-8869/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T