Is the Workplace Becoming More Uncivilized? Send in MissManners!
Examples of uncivil workplace behavior include making demeaningremarks, ignoring, and hostile looks. Results of public pollssuggest that incivility at work is increasing, with four out offive employees viewing disrespect and a lack of courtesy as aserious problem. Nearly three out of five believe that the problemof workforce incivility is getting worse, and a poll of 800 workersfound that 10% witnessed incivility daily and 20% said that theypersonally were the direct targets of incivility at least once perweek. Another study of 603 nurses found 33% had experienced verbalabuse in the previous 5 days. The source of incivility can besupervisors, coworkers, or customers. The rise of incivility may bedue to the increasing rates of change; people don’t have the timeto be “nice” anymore. Another explanation is generationaldifferences; the “me generation” is focused more on their ownconcerns and lacks respect for others. Workplace incivility hasbeen linked to outcomes for individuals and the organization. Forexample, a study conducted in a large public-sector organizationfound workplace incivility is related to sexual harassment and thatboth were detrimental to female employees’ well-being.
When employees experience incivility, they respond in various ways,including losing work time to avoid the uncivil person, decreasingtheir effort, thinking about quitting, and leaving the job to avoidthe instigator. Workplace incivility predicts burnout, which, inturn, predicts employees’ intentions to quit. In response to thisgrowing concern, organizations are beginning to set zero-toleranceexpectations for rude and disrespectful behavior at work. Othersare even implementing training in proper etiquette for managers. Aresearch study found that leaders can be proactive in reducingworkplace incivility by taking actions such as describing thepolicies available in the organization for preventing aggressionincidents between employees, encouraging employees to keep themupdated regarding signs of potential coworker-initiated aggression,and assigning a victim of incivility to work with differentcoworkers. Workplace incivility needs to be addressed to reduce thepersonal and professional impact on employees, and leaders need totake a proactive role to prevent it.
Answer the following questions.
- Provide an example of an incident that you have experiencedthat was rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard forothers. This can be an example you or another person at work orschool experienced.
- How did the experience of incivility (previously described)make you feel? What did you do about it?
- Which source of workplace incivility do you feel is mostharmful and why (supervisors, coworkers, or customers)?
