Workplace incivility reaches crisis level
Have you noticed an increasing tendency for people to be rude to one other at work? Well screw you if you haven’t. Just kidding, but that’s a mild example of some of the rude language that can fly around a workplace on any given day.
What’s not funny is that there truly is a rise in incivility in the workplace, whether it be supervisor-to-subordinate or colleague-to-colleague.
And it’s not just a "soft" issue any more, says Giovinella Gonthier, author of "Rude Awakenings: Overcoming the Civility Crisis in the Workplace." Gonthier spoke to the Association for Women in Communications about her findings at a recent meeting at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.
A study conducted by Christine Pearson, now of the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, found that due to uncivil behavior at work: 12% of respondents quit their jobs to avoid instigators – defined as someone who initiates an episode of incivility toward another, 28% lost time avoiding instigators, 46% thought about changing jobs to avoid an instigator, 22% intentionally decreased their work efforts, and 10% decreased the amount of time they spent at work (absenteeism).
"I always tell people that when you have a problem between two people, it’s never just between two people," Gonthier said. "It’s never just between two people in an organization. It undermines the effectiveness of the entire organization." She likened it to when a murder takes place in a community. It’s not just the perpetrator and the victim, it is their families, neighbors and surrounding community that are affected.
So why are we so nasty to each other? Gonthier suggests it is a combination of things:
Gonthier emphasizes that being civil can be very different than knowing proper etiquette. Being civil is about conflict management and listening skills, to name a few.
"There are a lot of people who have wonderful dining skills who are very condescending to their dining partners," Gonthier says. "I started to think of it in the broader sense of civility – learning to make other people comfortable even if you are using the wrong fork. That (having proper etiquette) was immaterial to me as long as you were fair and just to the human being in your space."
Incivility in the workplace takes several forms. Overt displays while explosive for a moment – if someone loses his or her temper – are actually less destructive to an organization than covert incivility. Covert behaviors are consistent and persistent comments or behaviors that wear on the targeted person over time, bringing morale down along the way.
The good news for Americans is that incivility is not unique to our culture. The European Union has recommended to its members that civility legislation called "Dignity at Work" be passed. The EU recommendation has been criticized because it narrowly focuses on bullying from the top-down, Gonthier said. Bullying, and incivility in general, takes place at all levels – even from subordinate to manager.
In France, if a boss is found guilty of bullying, he or she faces a fine of $13,000 and up to one year in jail. Sweden took the lead and outlawed bullying in the workplace in 1993. The Portuguese Parliament is considering a bill it labeled "psychological terrorism/moral harassment," according to Gonthier.
To combat incivility in the workplace, Gonthier recommends that company officials:
"If you put some of these competency rules in place it can prevent violence in the workplace," Gonthier says. "Incivility is more commonplace, and if left unchecked, it will lead to violence."
Gonthier’s ideas are being lauded by USA Today and national experts on organizational management like Dave Ulrich, a professor at the School of Business at the University of Michigan and organizations like the Institute of Management Studies, which named "Rude Awakenings" its book of the month for July.
July 5, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
