The high costs and bad vibrations of incivility
"Civility costs nothing and buys everything," wrote the 18th-century English writer, Mary Montagu. She was correct – assuming one grew up with the habit of being civil towards others. Unfortunately, there is a large body of research that shows that our workplaces are becoming increasingly uncivil and this is costing businesses and societies around the world billions of dollars while considerably adding to the stress of peoples' everyday lives.
Christine Porath and Christine Pearson's book, The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It, documents workplace studies that evidence the high costs of uncivil behavior, such as rudeness and discourtesy, in terms of reduced morale, higher attrition rates, lower productivity, less innovation and so on. The authors note that 12 percent of all employees say they've left jobs because they were treated badly. Fortune 1000 executives reportedly spend roughly seven weeks per year resolving employee conflicts. And an astonishing 95 percent of employees surveyed said they've experienced rudeness at work. Employees who have been subjected to rude behavior by another employee will often take it out on the customer. Customers and co-employees who witness incivility also may feel uncomfortable and want nothing further to do with that company. Research also shows that instigators of uncivil acts were twice as likely to be men. In addition, men were seven times as likely to behave poorly toward someone of lower status as opposed to someone of higher status. As a former CEO and manager at various levels, I have personally seen all of these effects and sometimes experienced them myself. Sadly, when such rude behavior gets into your mind it can be hard to think of anything else. Such malice truly can "poison" the work atmosphere and cause great harm to a business and all those associated with it. The reasons for this growing incivility are many – people at work are more pressured; many do not get sufficient sleep, people change jobs more frequently and so people tend to have fewer constructive relationships. Unfortunately, many seem unaware of the impact of their behavior. Civility should begin in the family as we learn how to engage in appropriate cooperative behavior in society. Work has also become more transactional and competitive as businesses increasingly focus on productivity. However, if these companies were to analyze qualitative as well as the quantitative data, they would find that the costs of this growing incivility is killing many businesses and driving away many of their best employees while alienating customers. There are many strategies to improve civility in the workplace, but most come down to leadership and the promotion of a positive, supportive, affirming organizational culture. It is also important for leaders and managers to be open to 360-degree feedback so that they know how they are being perceived by others. Yet, rude employees often have very valuable skills that the company needs. It is important to ensure that such workers are also helped to develop the "emotional intelligence" that makes them great colleagues who will also empower rather than alienate or even drive away their co-workers. Sadly too, this lack of civility is not confined to the workplace. The recent U.S. Presidential election was particularly notable for its lack of civility and degree of personal attacks, especially by the "super PACs." The result has been a polarization of politics that has left both politicians and the public at large unengaged and totally frustrated at the unwillingness of both sides to genuinely talk with one another. Civility is at the core of most successful relationships, whether in the family, the state or among nations. Our best hope for survival on this fragile, crowded planet is to have leaders at all levels treat one another with respect and dignity, have a genuine desire to communicate, and search for synergies and a common way forward. On March 1, 2013, Shenzhen in China will implement a Civilized Behavior Promotion Law to lend government enforcement to prohibit ten specific public behaviors deemed to be uncivilized. These behaviors include spitting in public, smoking in a designated non-smoking area, failing to clean up pets' excrement in public, and damaging public sanitation facilities. It is a sad commentary on modern times that such incivility is so prevalent that it must be legislated against. Yet, the law can be an instrument of constructive change – the challenge will be to enforce the new law and achieve the public benefit. Singapore and other countries have had some success in such measures; hopefully Shenzhen will too. Its citizens will enjoy walking down clean streets and the wonderful Chinese cuisine will be even tastier without having to be consumed in an atmosphere choked with cigarette smoke. With enhanced civility in the home, the school, the workplace and elsewhere, Chinese cities may replace the bad vibrations of incivility with the good vibrations of a community that is a great place to live and work. |
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