Keep Rudeness from Spreading at Work

As the pandemic lingers and economic insecurity looms, stress and uncertainly are pervasive in the workforce. Since uncertain environments make people more likely to engage in uncivil, and disrespectful communication—rudeness is on the rise, and so are its repercussions

According to Shannon G. Taylor and Lauren R. Locklear, writing in the Sloan Management Review, “Employees who experience incivility at work perform worse in their jobs, are less helpful to colleagues, and are more likely to steal from their employer. Rudeness also hurts employee retention and the bottom line. According to one estimate, handling a single incident of rudeness can cost an organization more than $25,000.” So what should managers be doing to keep rudeness from begetting more rudeness in a vicious cycle?

• Develop strong, shared expectations for appropriate behavior. Provide a strong example with your own behavior, encouraging employees to take cues from you. Be sure to define not only what positive behavior looks like, but also which negative behaviors are unacceptable. Company policies against incivility are most effective when managers clearly define what bad behavior entails. 

• Provide targeted training. To reduce uncivil behavior and its impact on employee turnover, offer training for teams struggling with a communication deficiency you’ve identified: A lack of active listening, or difficulty giving and receiving feedback. Improving these communication practices helps employees better understand their colleagues, so they can recognize and respond to one another’s needs. 
• Encourage gratitude and appreciation. Regularly encourage employees to thank and acknowledge each other. Make this real by showing them how to build expressions of gratitude into your team’s day-to-day work. For example, start meetings by asking each person to share something they appreciate about a colleague.

Have you experienced rudeness at work, and is your organization doing enough to mitigate it? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. 

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