Assessment of Workplace Social Encounters: Social Profiles, Burnout, and Engagement

Employed people (N = 826) completed questionnaires including the Social Encounters Scale that assessed civility, incivility, and intimidation from supervisors, coworkers, and respondents on identical frequency scale. Factor analyses, correlations, and profile analysis addressed the first research question by demonstrating the benefits of assessing various dimensions of workplace social dynamics on a common rating scale. A subsample (N = 275 completed a second survey, confirming consistency over time. To address the second research question a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified five social profiles: Civil, Low Contact, Uncivil Coworkers, Uncivil Supervisor, and Uncivil. These profiles were associated with distinct perceptions of the work environment, addressing the third research question. To address the fourth research question, crosstabulation with a profile structure based on the Maslach Burnout Scale demonstrated close links of workplace social culture with psychological connections with work.