Words have great power in workplace relationships. When constructively used, words can open new opportunities, create bonds, and seal bonds. But when wrongly used, words cause great damage, instantly dismantling what took a lot of time and finance to build. Workplace rudeness in the modern world is rampant and varied. Rudeness is the use of offensive language or actions that are against social norms. Ignoring an email request from a colleague, disrupting a conversation to respond to a text message, or snapping at someone during a meeting are examples of rude behavior in the workplace (Riskin et. al. , 2015).
Workplace Incivility
Workplace incivility, on the other hand, is defined as a deviant behavior of low intensity that is ambiguously intended to harm the target, violating workplace norms of courtesy and mutual respect (Schilpzand, De Pater & Erez, 2016). Workplace incivility is different from harassment, bullying, violence, and aggression in the workplace. The key component of the definition of workplace incivility that differentiates it from other interpersonal mistreatment forms is “ambiguous intent.” Examples of incivility include use of demeaning colleagues’ viewpoints and remarks, and talking down to others. However, defining the specifics of workplace incivility is difficult because the intention of causing harm to others is usually ambiguous.
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Engaging in uncivil behaviors is not intentionally aimed at harming other people. However, workplace incivility can be termed as an antisocial behavior towards other people. Behaviors that are uncivil are characteristically discourteous and rude, showing one does not regard others. Workplace incivility occurs worldwide. Despite the fact that different cultures have different perceptions on what acts contribute to uncivil behavior, negative effects of incivility are universal. For example, yelling at somebody in an organizational culture that is masculine (such as the army), is considered part of the training process. On the contrary, it is considered highly uncivil shouting at a child in a daycare facility. From another perspective, asking challenging question on the work done by a colleague during a meeting in the West is not rude, it is even expected. Yet in Philippines, asking such would alienate the target and the people watching in the meeting as well (Smolkin, 2016).
There are three ways through which workplace incivility can be manifested at work. The first way of propagating incivility is interpersonal in nature. Here, a person is directly uncivil towards another person. For instance, your supervisor failing to thank you for holding the door, whether intentional or not, is interpersonal incivility. Incivility can also be propagated as cyber incivility. Cyber incivility can be described as uncivil behavior in interaction that are computer-mediated, which include emails, social media communications, and texts (Giumetti et. al ., 2013). Examples include failing to reply to emails sent by others, sending information that is time sensitive through emails, and sending terse or blunt emails. Cyber incivility is increasing in the workplace today due to the fast-moving technology-focused workplace nature, the nature of cyber communication that is inherently impersonal, and the large-scale use of smartphones. Lastly, incivility can be manifested as victimless, such that uncivil behavior does not impact on the other person immediately. Putting thrash next to the trash can but not inside, failure to refill the office printer or the coffee machine are examples of victimless incivility. The above examples of victimless incivility does not immediately impact on a target, but it violates courtesy norms.
Effects of Workplace Incivility and Rudeness
Studies that are related to organizational behavior show that incivility has a wide range of effects in the workplace, ranging from poor productivity and motivation, work delays and destructions since employees are withdrawn from engaging in some activities and avoid instigators, to employee frustration and stress (Porath & Pearson, 2013). In the case where the initial incivility is unchecked, further effects of escalating incivility spiral will result, since employees will be taking out their frustrations on each other, which might lead to more severe characters. Affected staff members might also take it out on their customers, leading to potential cost implications on the reputation of the firm. Studies have also looked at the effect on those who watch acts of incivility happening. The effects are similar to those of actual recipients.
Workplace incivility is on the rise and is rampant. Accumulation of unthoughtful actions leaves employees feeling disrespected. The result is a lasting damage in the employees’ heads, which should worry the organization. When employees lack a sense of psychological safety, they feel that the workplace environment is not a safe, trusting, and respectful place for taking risks. As a result, they often shut down, sometimes even without realizing it. Such employees will not accept any feedback, seek clarification and feedback, discuss errors, experiment new things, or speak up on actual or potential problems they face. They will also work in a negativity cloud even when an intimidator is not around, hence can’t do their best at work (Smolkin, 2016). In an environment that is uncivil, negative thoughts easily seep into and stay in the minds of employees. Subsequently, employees will develop negative behavior.
Sometimes, even minor incidences that portray incivility, such as publicly questioning one’s capability or being thoughtlessly put down by others, leave an imprint in the victim’s head, affecting their work performance and well-being. A similar situation was developed by Yale psychologists, in which they found that surrounding yourself with jerks will make you learn to be a selfish person and not think about your actions. Once workers are exposed to rudeness, they become less likely to help other employees. The willingness to share and collaborate in teamwork by such workers also drops by more than 50%. Bad or offensive behavior escalates, as bad feelings spread, sometimes becoming dysfunctional or aggressive (Schilpzand, De Pater & Erez, 2016).
Rudeness, on the other hand, can be more benign and subtle than bullying and harassment, targets assume that it is part of their job or a daily routine, but there are effects on the well-being and job performance of the employee. Although there are some people who have built up tolerance for uncivil behavior (such as call center operators), small incidences of rudeness and uncivility have an impact on them. Different sources of rude behavior have different effects on the targets (Cortina & Magley, 2009). Uncivil behavior generated by a supervisor is likely to cause harmful effects than that coming from a co-worker since employees are dependent on their supervisors for rewards and evaluations. Also, rudeness from a co-worker will affect somebody more than that from a customer because an employee will only encounter an uncivil customer once but will face an uncivil co-worker daily. Sometimes rudeness feels like a threat to the target. In this case, rudeness occupies cognitive resources and focuses the attention of the victim on processing the rude behavior. For instance, in a hospital environment, such cognitive drain causes potentially devastating effects to patients. Rudeness gives wrong diagnosis, doesn’t communicate properly, and gives wrong medications (Riskin et. al. , 2015). Nearly every employee who has experienced workplace rudeness and incivility settles the score with the organization and their offender.
A study conducted on 17 companies and 800 managers revealed that out of the employees who were treated badly, 47 percent reduced their time spent at work, 38 percent decreased the quality of work intentionally, 66 percent of them said their quality of work reduced, and 63 percent lost time at work avoiding to meet with their offender (Gallus et. al ., 2014). 80 percent of the victims lost time thinking of how they were disrespected, and 78 percent said their engagement and commitment declined.
The effect of incivility and rudeness in the workplace is therefore not as trivial as one might think. It has lasting effects that have great costs on the performance of an individual and the organization they are working for (Crampton & Hodge, 2008). When employees are disrespected, they get eaten away. Subsequently, their teamwork experience, knowledge sharing, contributions, innovation, commitment, and engagement wane. In summary, incivility and rudeness kills collaboration and helpfulness of such employees. Some researchers show that employees who experience disrespect at work drop their willingness to work three times.
Conclusion
In conclusion, incivility and rudeness are some of the greatest killers of work performance in an organization. On the other hand, civility enhances team performance and individual contributions at work through increasing psychological safety among employees. The working environment with civility becomes safe, trusted, and respectful to take risks. Civility can be increased in an organization by offering suggestion in a civil way and encouraging everybody in an organization to mind their attitudes and norms at work while in the office (Kunkel & Davidson, 2014). Businesses would do well when they are aware of the benefits of being civil, causes of uncivil behavior, and finding ways of addressing uncivil behavior before it escalates. Emphasis on civil behavior should be put especially in organizations in countries like Philippines, where non-confrontation and politeness are part of their life and culture. Surprisingly, what the Western culture considers rude, like asking intimate questions about one’s age, or the cost of a person’s watch, is a gesture of friendship in Philippines. Therefore, it is important to understand norms that portray incivility and rudeness from country to country because what seems normal in one nation might be considered uncivil in another nation.
References
Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2009). Patterns and Profiles of Response to Incivility in the Workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , 14(3), 272-288. doi:10.1037/a0014934
Crampton, S. M., & Hodge, J. W. (2008). Rudeness and incivility in the workplace. Journal of Leadership, accountability and Ethics , 41.
Gallus, J. A., Bunk, J. A., Matthews, R. A., Barnes-Farrell, J. L., & Magley, V. J. (2014). An eye for an eye? Exploring the relationship between workplace incivility experiences and perpetration. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , 19(2), 143.
Giumetti, G.W., Hatfield, A.L. Scisco, J.L., Schroeder, A.N., Muth, E.R. & Kowalski, R.M. (2013). What a rude e-mail! Examining the differential effects of incivility versus support on mood, energy, engagement and performance in an online context. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , 18, 297-309.
Kunkel, D., & Davidson, D. (2014). Taking the Good with the Bad: Measuring Civility and Incivility. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict , 18 (1), 215-232.
Porath, C., & Pearson, C. (2013). The Price of Incivility. Harvard Business Review , 91(1/2), 114-121.
Riskin, A., Erez, A., Foulk, T.A., Kugelman, A., Gover, A., Shoris, I., Riskin, K.S. & Bamberger, P.A. (2015). The impact of rudeness on medical team performance: A randomized trial. Pediatrics, 136, 487- 495.
Schilpzand, P., De Pater, I. E., & Erez, A. (2016). Workplace incivility: A review of the literature and agenda for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 37(S1).
Smolkin, S. (2016). Incivility in the workplace 'robs people of focus'. Employee Benefit News , 30(1), 14-15.
