Nonverbal Incivility in the Workplace

Workplace incivility, often minimized as trivial, exerts significant adverse effects on organizational dynamics especially when enacted through nonverbal channels such as gestures, posture, spatial exclusion, and facial expressions. This chapter reconceptualizes nonverbal incivility as a strategic dimension of organizational politics, grounded in theories of social power and communication. By integrating robust organizational behaviour and occupational health research, along with empirical findings from India, this study highlights how nonverbal cues contribute to psychological distress, diminished psychological safety, turnover intention, and weakened productivity. Through a proposed conceptual framework, it identifies nonverbal cues as early indicators of toxic cultural undercurrents and suggests proactive interventions. Ultimately, the chapter aims to widen the discourse on occupational well-being by illuminating the nuanced, often invisible role of nonverbal incivility in shaping workplace climates and power relations.