Passive cyber incivility, with its ambiguity and offensive nature, can have a detrimental impact on employees’ well-being and negative work consequences. To explore passive cyber incivility in depth, we examined its effects through both motivational and affective channels. Over the course of a month, this study conducted a three-wave survey across industries, involving a sample of 306 employees. Results showed that passive cyber incivility has no direct impact on work engagement. Instead, it hampered work engagement through the serial mediation of intrinsic motivation and emotional exhaustion. Overall, this study aims not only to raise awareness of the risks associated with passive cyber incivility but also to contribute to the existing literature on work engagement by investigating the mediating processes that have not been sufficiently studied.

As a low-intensity stressor with ambiguous intent, workplace incivility has sparked debate regarding its real impact. A key unresolved question is how daily incivility elicits specific cognitive processes that lead to sustained exhaustion over time. This study examines cognitive depletion-a critical state linked to impaired job performance-by investigating its relationship with workplace incivility and the mediating roles of catastrophizing and positive reappraisal across different time frames. Using a hybrid methodological approach that combines a five-day daily diary study with a three-wave longitudinal survey spanning two months, we captured both immediate and cumulative cognitive processes. Results revealed a significant direct effect of workplace incivility on cognitive depletion. Moreover, catastrophizing served as a salient depletion pathway, whereas insufficient positive reappraisal represented a failed protection pathway. These findings highlight that excessive negative interpretation of uncivil experiences, coupled with a diminished capacity for positive reframing, constitutes a critical mechanism driving cognitive depletion.