Aim: This study aimed to examine the association between workplace incivility and compassion competence of Korean nurses, as well as the moderating effect of psychological capital.
Background: Workplace incivility affects the quality of patient care and as such is worthy of critical examination regarding its impact on the compassion competence of nurses.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, data for 192 Korean hospital nurses were used to analyse the relationship between workplace incivility and compassion competence and the moderating effect of psychological capital.
Results: Workplace incivility was negatively associated with compassion competence of nurses. Furthermore, psychological capital had a conditional moderating effect on the relationship between workplace incivility and nurses' compassion competence. The negative associations of workplace incivility with compassion competence were significant at low and medium levels of psychological capital but not at high psychological capital. Moreover, the association was stronger for those with low psychological capital.
Conclusion: Workplace incivility is negatively associated with compassion competence among nurses, and psychological capital has conditional moderating effects in its relationship.
Implications for nursing management: Management efforts to reduce workplace incivility and to improve nurses' psychological capital are needed to improve patient care quality.
Keywords: compassion; nurses; patient care; psychological capital; quality of health care; workplace incivility.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.