Incivility Rising…Don’t Allow It To Affect Your Bottom Line

Do you look forward to going to work everyday because it is an engaging and friendly atmosphere? Or are you like the 86% of employees surveyed in a Jeannie Trudel study that said they had experienced some form of incivility in the workplace within the past year.

Unfortunately, incivility in the workplace is a more common problem than most people realize, and it is rising. This growing epidemic is not contained in just one particular industry or even just from a supervisor. The uptick in workplace incivility could be attributable to the pressures employees are dealing with under a still lagging economy.

Employees have more stress on them to be productive while working longer and harder, in most cases. Employers must be cognoscente of this issue to avoid it escalating into more aggressive or even violent behavior. Workplace incivility can have a major impact on the company from organizational commitment, job performance, turnover and retention.

The truth is very few employees will actually report workplace incivility to their respective HR personnel and/or managers. So it is up to the employer to keep a look out for signs of this behavior.

First, every company needs to make sure they have a specific and strategic plan in place to ensure civility is a part of the corporate culture. It all starts with the type of employees that you hire. Make sure you are screening for personality and/or conflict management styles.

Then, bring your team together for training on cooperation, role modeling and leadership. When teams are seasoned on these traits, they are often more willing to work in collaboration and are less likely to use uncivil behavior.

Incivility is a rising problem in corporate America with some disastrous side effects, but with just a few corrective steps you can stem the tide at your company. For more information, contact Todd Weyandt at todd@laihr.com.