What is Civility?

Civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step.
It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point
for dialogue about differences, listening past ones preconceptions, and teaching
others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those
with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements. It is political in the sense
that it is a necessary prerequisite for civic action. But it is political, too, in the sense
that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such that everyones voice is heard,
and nobodys is ignored.

What is CREW?
Civility, Respect, and Engagement in the Workplace (CREW) is a VA-wide
culture change initiative. First launched in 2005 by the VHA National Center for
Organization Development (NCOD) in response to employee feedback that low
levels of civility affected their level of job satisfaction, it has since been utilized by
over 1,200 VA workgroups to establish a culture of respect and civility in their
organization.

Civility is an essential behavior of all employees in all organizations. These are the interpersonal
rules of engagement for how we relate to each other, our customers, and our stakeholders; the
fundamentals of courtesy, politeness, and consideration.
Respect connects us at a personal level. It reflects an attitude developed from deep listening and
understanding, cultural and personal sensitivity, and compassion. It honors all the participants in
an interaction by creating a safe place to have difficult conversations and leads to an environment
of honesty and mutual trust.
Engagement is the result of respectful relationships within an atmosphere of trust. It provides all
staff with the charge, the parameters, the training and the support to make decisions on the spot
in the best interest of the veteran.

What is Civility?
Civility as we pursue it is the ability to disagree productively with others, respecting their
sincerity and decency.By civility we do NOT mean agreement. We think citizens are well
served when political parties represent different viewpoints and then compete vigorously to
recruit voters to their side.
Based on decades of social science research, we believe this civility is best fostered by
indirect methods (changing contexts, payoffs, and institutions), rather than by direct
methods (such as pleading with people to be more civil, or asking people to sign civility
pledges). Much of the research that we cite concerns these indirect methods.
Our approach is to draw on the best scientific research to understand how moral
disagreements become uncivil, and how we can recommend changes that can get people
out of unproductive, uncivil disagreement.

What is Civility?

It's too much to expect in an academic setting that we should all agree, but it is not too much to expect

discipline and unvarying civility. John Howard

According to Websters dictionary, civility is civilized conduct; especially courtesy and politeness.

Civility is polite act or expression.

Grand Valley State University is committed to creating a culture of respect and civility in the

workplace. Treating each other professionally, valuing each persons unique background, experience,
and

perspective are all part of a positive workplace where civility is ingrained in the culture. GVSU strives to
be

an employer of excellence. We recognize the complexity and stress that work place conflict or incivility
can

cause for faculty and staff. Resources are provided to effectively manage differences, resolve conflict
and

provide a positive work environment. When conflict is resolved well, it leads to both personal and

professional growth. Civility is the responsibility of both the supervisor and of the faculty or staff
member.

Ten Tips for Creating Respect and Civility in Your Workplace

Adapted from Lorman Education Services Newsletter Employment and Labor Update April 2007

If each employee develops an awareness of respectful behaviors and necessary skills, it is anticipated
that employees

will serve as role models and that these behaviors will spread in the workplace and beyond. The
following are ten tips

to assist you in accomplishing this objective:

1. Before acting, consider the impact of your words and actions on others.

2. Create an inclusive work environment. Only by recognizing and respecting individual differences and
qualities can

your organization fully realize its potential.

3. Self-monitor the respect that you display in all areas of your communications, including verbal, body
language, and

listening.

4. Understand your triggers or hot buttons. Knowing what makes you angry and frustrated enables
you to manage

your reactions and respond in a more appropriate manner.

5. Take responsibility for your actions and practice self-restraint and anger management skills in
responding to

potential conflicts.

6. Adopt a positive and solution-driven approach in resolving conflicts.

7. Rely on facts rather than assumptions. Gather relevant facts, especially before acting on assumptions
that can

damage relationships.

8. Include others in your focus by considering their needs and avoiding the perception that you view
yourself as the

center of the universe.

9. View todays difficult situations from a broader (big picture) and more realistic perspective by
considering what

they mean in the overall scheme of things.

10. "Each one influence one by becoming a bridge builder and role model for civility and respect. Act in
a manner

whereby you respect yourself, demonstrate respect for others, and take advantage of every opportunity
to be

proactive in promoting civility and respect in your workplace.

Ethics and Civility Go Hand in Hand

Incivility in society and in the workplace is on the rise. Virtually all people believe this is so. Every day
we witness inconsiderate behavior, in your face interaction in communications with others, and other
forms of rudeness. There are many causes of incivility not the least of which is the explosion of social
media as a way to communicate, including rants on Twitter. The anonymous nature of postings on the
Internet feeds into such disrespectful behavior.
The lack of civility has now turned ugly with terrorist acts in churches, movie theaters, schools, in the
workplace and on police officers. I believe this trend threatens the very fabric of society in the U.S. We
may not need to wait for an attack by ISIS. We may need to worry about here at home first.
We have a society where mental health issues seem to be pronounced. Why is that? What is causing it? I
believe it is due to the culture of greed in society and getting away from what has made this country
great, which is caring about our neighbors and communities. We need to get back to being a civil
society.
Civility represents the quality of our behavior with others in our communities. This is important for
business because how we treat others signals who we are and what we value. Moreover, since the
essence of ethics lies in how we are with others, civility and ethics are intricately linked.
Let us clear up some misconceptions. Civility is not peripheral to ethics, dealing merely with manners.
True, civility does manifest itself in good manners, proper etiquette and politeness. But it also runs
deeper and is more profound. Simply put, civility requires restraint, respect and responsibility in
everyday life. Without these, we can never act ethically.
Ethics deals fundamentally with how we treat each other on a daily basis. Indeed, our small acts of
civility and incivility constitute the heart of morality.
Civility cultivates a civic code of decency. It requires us to discipline our impulses for the sake of
others. It demands we free ourselves from self-absorption. By putting ethics into practice in our day-
to-day encounters, civility is that moral glue without which our society would come apart.
Both inside and outside the workplace, we see a rash of disrespectful, discourteous and rude
behavior. Angry commuters use their vehicles to take out their aggressions and deliberately cut others
off in traffic. Customer service has diminished to the point where most would prefer to use the
impersonal ATM machine than face an unhappy bank teller. Malicious political campaigns and tactics
draw out the worst in even the most in candidates as we have learned all too well these past few
months. Children face tremendous fear and stress from bullies at school.
The impact of such destructive behavior can be more psychologically damaging than open forms of
abuse, such as harassment and violence. From a business and leadership perspective, the negative
behavior happening outside of the workplace is trickling in affecting employee loyalty, organizational
commitment and overall productivity. The pressures of everyday life can take their toll on employees
who are already working under a great deal of stress. Consequently, tempers get frayed and patience
and tolerance are thrown out the window.
Encouraging civility in the workplace promotes a low stress work environment and improved employee
morale. It also helps to mitigate employee dissatisfaction that often results in such things as civil
rights complaints and lawsuits. The economic impact related to litigation, turnover, productivity and
customer dissatisfaction can be devastating to an organization.
Civility is essential to defining the culture and establishing a foundation of proper business behavior. It
is an underlying value that successful organizations strive to achieve. The link between civil behavior
and virtue ethics is the answeror at least a starting point to bring civility into ones life, into the
workplace, and in communications with others.
Virtue ethics deals with the character traits of individuals who act in a way that defines the type of
person they are. Truthfulness, respect, consistent behavior in the way one person treats others,
empathy, and trustworthiness are just some of the underlying ethical values that feed civil behavior.
To be able to build and maintain itself as a viable entity capable of reaching its full potential an
organization must be able to manage its interpersonal relationships in a manner that promotes positive
interactions that are civil and respectful. This is not an easy task considering the myriad personalities
and individual circumstance that impact workplace interactions. But it can be accomplished with
leadership commitment to fostering positive and meaningful interactions among employees.
Danita Johnson Hughes addresses this issue in her " Power Principles of Success." Dr. Hughes provides 3
basic principles to create a civil workplace as follows.
 Respect is inherent in the belief that although another persons beliefs may be different than
yours, you should still honor their viewpoint and accord the other person due
consideration. Taking someones feelings, ideas, and preferences into consideration
indicates that you take them seriously and that their position has worth and value, even if
contrary to your own. In so doing, you validate the other persons individuality and right to
a differing opinion.
Restraint is simply a matter of exercising personal self-control at all times. Therefore, you
should know your triggers. Be aware of how your words and actions affect other people.
Being aware of the things that make you angry or upset helps you to monitor and manage
your reaction. Think before you act. Remember, you may not be able to control the things
others say or do. But, you can control your response.
Refinement is the quest for continual cultivation and improvement of relationships in the
workplace. Just as the process of Continual Quality Improvement has come to be known as
a means to improve performance and increase efficiency in an organization, refinement of
thought, ways of expressing those thoughts and the practice of continuously exercising
appropriate decorum when relating to others can go a long way towards enhancing
workplace civility. Improving and strengthening relationships requires effort and
commitment.
Achieving civility in the workplace requires the involvement of every employee from the top
down. Going to work in an environment free from the back-biting, rude employee behavior and the
constant complaining that many are subjected to everyday is certainly not ideal. However, making the
commitment to achieving and sustaining civility can be the key to a successful and thriving organization
with high employee morale.
Ethical leaders should make workplace civility a priority in their business by insisting that all employees
follow core values and exercise restraint when differences exist in the workplace.

Workplace incivility has been defined as low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to
harm the target. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of
regard for others.[1] The authors hypothesize there is an "incivility spiral" in the workplace made
worse by "asymmetric global interaction".[1]
Incivility is distinct from violence. The reduction of workplace incivility is a fertile area for applied
psychology research.

What is Incivility?

Advertisement

You find yourself walking into work with your supervisor, and you hold the door open
for her. She breezes through without saying thank you. When you get to the break room
to have your morning cup of coffee, you find that the pot is emptythe last person did
not refill the coffeemaker. Later, your coworkers all leave for lunch together while you
are in the washroom. To top off your day, you receive an email from a coworker,
demanding that you finish a projectin the next two hours!
All of these behaviors are examples of incivility, a low intensity deviant behavior with
ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect
and courtesy(1). The key component of this definition that separates incivility from other
forms of interpersonal mistreatment is the concept of ambiguous intent. In a typical
case of interpersonal mistreatment (e.g., verbal aggression; emotional abuse; violence),
there is a perpetrator (i.e., a person committing the misdeed) and a victim (i.e., a person
who is on the receiving end of the misdeed). Using verbal aggression as an example, the
perpetrator shouts at the victim. In this case, intentionality is very clearthe perpetrator
intends to psychologically harm the victim. However, in a case of incivility, this clear
intentionality is no longer present. For example, an employee says hello to a coworker,
and the coworker does not respond in kind. The employee might be considered a victim
of the coworker, who might be considered the perpetrator of incivility, though it is not
clear that any harm was meant. Perhaps the coworker did not hear the employee saying
hello, or perhaps it actually was an intentional slight. With incivility, the ambiguity of
intent makes it difficult to tell.

At work, incivility can manifest in three major ways. First, incivility can be interpersonal
in nature, where one person is directly uncivil toward another person. In the above
example, your supervisor neglecting to thank you for holding the door is an example of
interpersonal incivility (whether or not she actually intended to be uncivil). Alternately,
incivility can manifest as cyber incivility. Cyber incivility is uncivil behavior exhibited
in computer-mediated interactions, including emails, texts, and social media
communications. Examples of this behavior would be sending time-sensitive information
via email, sending blunt or terse emails, or not replying to emails sent by others. Given
the fast-paced, technology-focused nature of todays workplace, as well as the large-scale
adoption of smart phones, cyber incivility is increasingly becoming an important concern.
The inherently impersonal nature of cyber communication can further exacerbate this
issue. Finally, incivility can be victimless, in that the rude behavior does not
immediately impact another person. For example, not refilling the office coffee machine
or printer, or tossing trash next to the trash can without picking it up are examples of
victimless incivility. It does not have an immediate impact on another person, but it
violates norms for courtesy, nonetheless.

Why should we care?

Workplace incivility may be low in intensity, but it is quite high in frequency. Over the
past ten years, research investigating workplace incivility has estimated that prevalence
rates may be between 75% and 100%, meaning that nearly all employees have
experienced some level of incivility from their coworkers, supervisors, or
customers/clients(2, 3). The exceptionally high frequency of occurrence for incivility is
cause for concern because research has consistently demonstrated that the effects of
incivility can compound over time. As a result, incivility has been shown to lead to a host
of deleterious effects on employee and organizational well-being. In terms of personal
outcomes, coworker incivility has been linked to higher levels of employee burnout,
feelings of strain, and decreased psychological well-being(4, 5). In terms of
organizational outcomes, incivility has been related to employee withdrawal, decreased
satisfaction, and decreased performance (2, 6).

Not only is incivility related to these negative effects on employees and organizations,
but it can also spiral out of control(1). That is, when someone perceives incivility from
another individual in the workplace, they may retaliate with an uncivil act of their own
(i.e., you were rude to me, Im going to be rude to you!), creating a spiral of incivility. In
such a spiral, retaliation occurs between two organizational members, increasing in
intensity and eventually escalating from minor deviant acts of incivility to overtly hostile
acts such as verbal aggression and even violence. As such, minor breaches in etiquette
could quickly grow out-of-hand.

What can we do?

It is clear that incivilityin its many formscan be incredibly harmful to both

individual employees and to their employing organizations. What, then, should be done
to reduce incivility? Research investigating civility interventions is relatively new, but
there are some recommendations that might be effective in building a respectful work
environment(7, 8). Perhaps one of the most important factors in maintaining a civil work
environment is to have a strong example set by management. That is, managers should
model civil behavior, helping create a culture of civility and respect. If managers
frequently violate social norms for courtesy and respect, employees might take this as a
cue that doing so is acceptable, and begin to be uncivil to each other. Managers should
realize that they are always on, and should be especially careful when interacting with
employees, whether these interactions are in-person or via email. By setting the tone for
the organization, managers can help create a culture of civility and respect at all levels of
the organization.

Aside from managers modeling behavior, organizations can also make sure that norms
for courtesy and respect are evident to employees from the recruitment stage. Recruiters
should have the people skills necessary to embody the civility norms of the
organization and set the stage for these expectations. During the selection phase,
employers can thoroughly check references for (among other things) indications of
consistent past rude behavior, as well as select on personality traits that might be related
to civil, respectful behavior (such as conscientiousness and agreeableness). Upon
employees entering an organization, onboarding programs can make civility expectations
clear, and issues related to interpersonal behavior can be discussed. Emphasizing that
employees should never be too busy to be nice should be a priority, and this should be
reiterated throughout the course of an employees career.
Overall, organizational leadership should take whatever steps they can to maintain a civil
climate, keeping in mind that promoting civility can both reduce negative employee
outcomes and increase organizational effectiveness. Maintaining a civil work
environment is not necessarily easy, particularly due to the fast-paced, often
interpersonally disconnected work environment, where communication is quick and
emails are may be sent without a thought. However, previous research indicates that it
can be done, and making efforts toward promoting civility will certainly pay off in the
long-term.

References

Definition
Workplace incivility can be defined as deviant workplace behavior of low intensity that can include
such behavior as being rude, discourteous, impolite or violating workplace norms of behavior.
People engaging in uncivil behavior may not necessarily have bad or harmful intent. You can think of
workplace incivility as a type of antisocial behavior.

Examples
The workplace is replete with examples of incivility. You are probably familiar with some of the
following examples:

Rudeness
Treating a subordinate like a child
Berating a subordinate or co-worker
Making unfounded accusations
Gossiping
Excluding co-workers or team members
Interrupting people
Texting during a presentation
Jamming a printer or copier and letting someone else deal with it
Use of demeaning language
Creating unnecessary and irrelevant controversy
Mocking a co-worker

Possible Causes
Scholars have proposed several causes for workplace incivility. One major cause can be stress and
anger due to the current work environment, such as increased workload, job insecurity, and
organizational change, resulting in more responsibility and less resources. In fact, even casual
workdays can add to incivility. People tend to behave less formally when they are dressed casually.
In other words, you behave more formally and respectfully when in a suit and tie as opposed to
jeans and a t-shirt.
Workplace incivility can spread like a disease and have
disastrous consequences. Don't allow this silent menace impact
company performance.

Your HR department might be vigilant when it comes to overt demonstrations of hostile

behavior in the workplace, such as harassment, threats and bullying. These instances
tend to be evident and noticeable, and so are addressed and resolved readily. However,
an equally threatening form of hostility is likely taking root and causing significant
damage to your company. This form of hostility is becoming known in HR and
performance management circles as workplace incivility.

The number of people experiencing workplace incivility has doubled over the past twenty
years. According to one study, 96 percent of employees have experienced incivility at
work, with 48 percent of them claiming to experience incivility at least once a week. To
best understand the danger of this underhanded and ambiguous form of bullying, we
should first examine what it is, the negative impacts it can cause, and what we can do to
resolve the problem.
In an article on HR Zone, psychology professor Mike Sliter defines workplace incivility as
a low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation
of workplace norms for mutual respect and courtesy. This might come in the form of
sarcasm, insults, condescending comments, inconsideration or rudeness. One thing to
note about incivility is that it all too often goes unaddressed, due to its surreptitious or
unclear nature.

The problems inherent in an uncivil workplace

The results of one study demonstrated that when people are exposed to
incivility, performance was a remarkable 61 percent worse. Another study showed
rudeness was linked to an unwillingness to share information and seek help.
Studies have also linked incivility to other negative workplace behaviors. Over time, it
has been known to cause stress, difficulties in communication, employee burnout and
decreased morale. Unsurprisingly, there is also a strong association between incivility
and high turnover rates, which is notoriously costly to organizations worldwide. It has
been estimated incivility costs companies $14,000 per employee annually, due to a loss
of production.
Incivility and rudeness can spread throughout a
workplace
If you notice signs of incivility within your workforce, it is essential that you and
your performance management team act quickly. A recent study conducted by Michigan
State University and published in the Journal of Applied Psychology has
demonstrated incivility can spread rapidly throughout a company. The study surveyed 70
employees who were given performance-based tasks and exposed to rude workplace
behavior. The study found incivility prompted mental fatigue, which in turn resulted in
a loss of self-control, so the participants were more likely to treat others in a similar,
negative manner, resulting in what the study termed incivility spirals.

How to eliminate incivility

There are a number of measures that need to be put in place to counter the effects of
incivility in a workplace. One great place to start is to improve the quality and frequency
of communication between employees. Large brands all over the world have made the
switch to weekly feedback sessions, where performance and progress is discussed and
reviewed. During these sessions, make it clear that the employee in question should feel
free to bring up any office-related issues that might be causing them undue stress or
impeding their performance.

Digital technology can also help solve the problem of incivility. Employees need to be
able to bounce ideas off each other in an environment that is creative, positive and
judgement-free. Employees need a mix of communication tools to express themselves.
One such solution is software that facilitates communication, such as performance
management software, which can be used to keep up-to-date with colleagues and elicit
feedback from managers. It should be noted that with digital communication, should an
employee have an interaction they perceive as uncivil or rude, they have a record that
may prove necessary if the behavior continues.

Change can be difficult, and overhauling your company culture can certainly prove to be
a challenge. However, small changes make all the difference and can be introduced
today. If change is to take hold within an organization, the HR department should be at
the heart of these efforts. Your business needs to take a firm stand against inherent
company incivility. It might be easier to turn a blind eye to rudeness, or to instruct
employees to be less sensitive when it comes to conflict, but the only way to stamp out
this behavior is to be proactive and make changes to your company culture. Making
excuses such as he might be abrasive but hes a good worker, so we let it go or, its just
the way she is arent justifiable stances. Their attitudes are negatively impacting those
around them and need to be addressed if you are seriously looking to improve overall
office performance.

By keeping in mind the problems that arise from incivility and improving
communication, you will notice changes within your company that will see it grow and
excel.

Workplace incivility refers to those seemingly insignificant behaviours that are rude, disrespectful,
discourteous or insensitive, where the intent to harm is ambiguous or unclear. Incivility often
happens unintentionally, and without realizing the negative impact it has on those who are affected
by it.
Every workplace has some measure of incivilitywherever there are human, incivility is inevitable.
Most of us engage in uncivil behaviour inadvertently, unintentionally, and sometimes even
unconsciously. We ignore someone, make a sarcastic comment, or use our electronic devices in
ways that make someone feel dismissed.

Some uncivil behaviours are highly personal in nature. Here, the behaviour is clearly directed at a
specific person or persons, in both subtle or blatant forms. Here youll find comments or body
language that dismiss a persons experience, skills or expertise, gossip about coworkers, direct
sarcasm, silent treatment, cliques and exclusion, or the R.U.T rude use of technology that sends a
dismissive message.
Other forms of uncivil behaviours are more victimless by nature. These are inconsiderate or
discourteous actions that are not directed at a specific person or group of people but, rather, violate
what most people would consider to be the norms of workplace courtesy. We refer to these as
unprofessional behaviours. Here you will find behaviours such as using a speakerphone to listen to
voice messages while using a speakerphone which disrupts other peoples work or leaving the
microwave dirty when others need to use it.

The Definition of Incivility

The word incivility is derived from the Latin meaning not of a citizen. The intent is for
democracy to operate in a healthy manner, civilians need to conduct themselves in an
ethical and respectful way.

This incivility is clearly evident in the current political campaigns, and is also reflected in
rude and discourteous behavior such as cutting in line, road rage, personal insults,
interrupting in conversations, and internet bullying and trolling. T.V. shows, movies and
news broadcasts now typically depict the heroes or good guys acting and speaking in
a uncivil manner that make them hard to distinguish from the bad guys.

Americans feel incivility has consequences and tends to be directed at certain groups.
In fact, most see a direct link between incivility in society and violent behavior (93%),
online bullying/cyberbullying (90%), discrimination/unfair treatment
(88%), humiliation and harassment (92%), and intimidation and threats (93%). Groups
thought to experience incivility often: homeless people (55%), Muslims (51%),
immigrants (50%), refugees (47%), transgender people (50%), lesbian and gay people
(46%), lower income people (46%), African Americans (41%), Hispanics (35%), people
living with a mental disability (38%), people living with a physical disability (31%), police
officers (35%), and women (28%).

Repeated public opinion polls have voiced the concern of Americans over the erosion of
civility in government, business, media and social media. According to a recent poll by
Weber Shandwick, Powell Tate, and KRC Research, 70 percent of Americans think that
political incivility has reached crisis levels. The poll also found that Americans avoid
discussing controversial questions, out of fear they too will be perceived as uncivil. The
findings speak to a flaw with civic education, especially in the main institution charged
with delivering it: public schools. Put simply, schools in the United States dont teach the
countrys future citizens how to engage respectfully across their political differences. So
it shouldnt be surprising that they cant, or that that they dont. Whats even more
distressing is that nearly 50% of those surveyed said they were withdrawing from the
basic tenants of democracygovernment and politicsbecause of incivility and
bullying.

Results from the Civility in America report fall into several key areas in this report
civility in politics, education, the workplace, the Internet and the marketplace. Most
Americans report they have been victims of incivility (86%). Their most common
encounters with rude or disrespectful behavior come while driving (72%) or shopping
(65%). Americans also admit to perpetrating incivilityapproximately six in 10 (59%)
Americans acknowledge that they themselves have been uncivil.

On April 22, 2016 The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at
the University of Chicago released a report citing that 74 percent of Americans think
manners and behavior have declined in the United States. In this study they discovered
that people in most cases can agree with what is appropriate and inappropriate
behavior. They found that 8 out of 10 Americans find jokes made based
on race, gender, or sexuality are considered inappropriate, but only a small amount of
people own up to actually making these types of jokes. Although there were some
differences between age demographics on newer technologies, such as the use of cell
phones. The report suggests that nearly half of all Americans 18-29 find it acceptable to
use their cell phones in a restaurant, while less than 22 percent of people over the age
of 60 years old agrees.

Uncivil behavior is also increasingly showing up in our classrooms, not just at work. Half
of American parents (50%) report that their children have experienced incivility at school
and nearly half of Americans twenty years and older (45%) say that theyd be afraid to
be teenagers today because of incivilitys frequent occurrence. One in 10 (11%) parents
report that they have sent children to a different school due to problems with incivility.

A Pew Research Center survey published two years ago found that 70% of 18-to-24-
year-olds who use the Internet had experienced harassment, and 26% of women that
age said theyd been stalked online. This is exactly what trolls want. A 2014 study
published in the psychology journal Personality and Individual Differences found that the
approximately 5% of Internet users who self-identified as trolls scored extremely high in
the dark tetrad of personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and,
especially, sadism.

But maybe thats just people who call themselves trolls. And maybe they do only a small
percentage of the actual trolling. Trolls are portrayed as aberrational and antithetical to
how normal people converse with each other. And that could not be further from the
truth, says Whitney Phillips, a literature professor at Mercer University and the author
of This Is Why We Cant Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship Between Online
Trolling and Mainstream Culture. These are mostly normal people who do things that
seem fun at the time that have huge implications. You want to say this is the bad guys,
but its a problem of us.

Cellphones are another target for incivility researchers. While most users no longer feel
the need to shout into their phones, they may be so wrapped up "in their own little
bubbles" that they don't realize they're blocking a sidewalk or holding up a line, says
psychologist Veronica V. Galvn, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological sciences
at the University of San Diego.

Why Civility is a Cornerstone of Democracy

In the book, The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends On It, well-known
author Os Guinness argues that civility needs to be rebuilt in western societies like the
USA if they are to survive: "Civility must truly be restored. It is not to be confused with
niceness and mere etiquette or dismissed as squeamishness about differences. It is a
tough, robust, substantive concept and a manner of conduct that will be decisive for
the future of the American republic.
Trevor Cairney, writing for the Center for Apologetic Scholarship and Education, says
that civility refers to the behavior between members of society that create a social code
and is a foundational principle of a civilized society. The Romans in creating an empire
that expanded around the world put great emphasis on civil virtue. The Romans
believed in honest debate, civility in the streets and treating adversaries with respect,
even if defeating them in battle. Historians looking at the fall of the Roman Empire have
tried to find reasons why the great Empire failed. Many see the loss of the civil society
as a symptom of the loss of civility in general as a major reason for the fall of the
Romans. People stopped treating each other with respect. The Empire itself stopped
treating those they conquered with respect. What was once a society of mutual respect
for all became a society of overconfidence of complacency. The very values that made
the Roman Empire great were the very values that were left behind.

Jim Taylor, a psychologist at the University of San Francisco, writing in the Huffington
Post,contends that Civility is about something far more important than how people
comport themselves with others. Rather, civility is an expression of a
fundamental understanding and respect for the laws, rules, and norms (written and
implicit) that guide its citizens in understanding what is acceptable and unacceptable
behavior. For a society to function, people must be willing to accept those strictures.
Though still in the distance, the loss of civility is a step toward anarchy, where anything
goes; you can say or do anything, regardless of the consequences.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more
we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next
generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at
work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and
public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect
and pride as a country.

A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and
corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step
towards bringing civility back to our shores, argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber
Shandwick.

What are the Causes of Incivility?

According to a recent poll, the majority of Americans (58%) expect incivility to get worse
and they believe politicians (64%) and the internet and social media (63%) are the ones
to blame. In fact, some research suggests that angry messages spread faster on social
media than other ones. The news media (54%) also rises to the top of the blame list.
Todays instantaneous, nonstop media coverage may exacerbate the problemand
most think it makes incivility appear worse than it is (64%). On the one hand, most
(70%) feel the media has a responsibility to help decrease incivility. On the other, most
also think that responsibility shouldnt come at the cost of censoring free speech: 69%
say the media should report news about political candidates, even if they are uncivil.
There is general agreement that there has been an increase in rudeness and incivility.
However, there is less concurrence as to the reasons for the increase. Most experts
suggest a combination of individual, family and organizational factors that contribute to
this increase. For instance, it has been suggested that todays workers are simply
stressed out. Employees are stressed because they are often asked to do more work
and are usually provided with less assistance from management. The workplace has
also become more diverse. Workers from various backgrounds may react differently to
situations. Behaviors that one person may perceive as being cold or rude may be
viewed differently by another individual. In other words, there is also an element of
subjectivity to the perception of rudeness, just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

The increase in rudeness and incivility may be traced to the family and the effect of
technology, such as television and the Internet. It has been suggested that in our
technologically focused society, we are more competent when dealing with machines
and software but have lost ground when it comes to dealing with each other. Rudeness
may pay off since the rude individual at work is three times more likely to be in a higher
position than the target of the rudeness.

Pier M. Forni, an award-winning professor of Italian Literature and founder of The

Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University and author of The Civility Solution: What to
Do When People are Rude says, In todays America, incivility is on prominent display:
in the schools, where bullying is pervasive; in the workplace, where an increasing
number are more stressed out by coworkers than their jobs; on the roads, where road
rage maims and kills; in politics, where strident intolerance takes the place of earnest
dialogue; and on the web, where many check their inhibitions at the digital door.

Forni says the onslaught of rude, bullying and uncivil behaviorintensified by the 24/7
reach of the Internet and social-networking sites such as Facebookadds to
the stress people are already feeling and can translate into real and very tragic
consequences. The weak economy, wars, the threat of terrorism, the hostile
political environment, the two major parties warring with one another and exchanging
salvos that are not very civilthese are not the most pleasant or stress-free of times,
says Forni. When we are stressed, we are less likely to be considerate and kind to
others. We retire, retreat into the citadel of ourselves and we shut the door. We are
more prone to anger. We are less tolerant of the mistakes of others.

Forni says feelings of insecurity only exacerbate the problem. When we are insecure or
not sure of ourselves for whatever the reason because the economy is bad, or we think
we are going to lose our jobs very often we shift the burden of that insecurity upon
others in the form of hostility, he says. It is the kick-the-dog syndrome. You make an
innocent pay for how badly you feel in order to find some kind of relief.

Incivility and bullying behavior is also often a precursor to physical violence, says Forni.
According to the Department of Labor, there are about 1.8 million acts of physical
violence in the American workplace in any given year.
How in the world can we stop bullying in schools, in the workplace, in politics, when it is
so close to our national character right now? asks Dr. Gary Namie, a psychologist and
cofounder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, a Washington statebased nonprofit.

Writing in the Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, Roddey Reid, a professor of cultural
studies at the University of California contends, Although a universal problem, bullying
enjoys a virulence and prevalence in contemporary U.S. culture virtually unmatched
anywhere else in terms of its reach, depth, and legitimacy. Unlike in many European
nations and Canada it is not illegal in the U.S.

Stanley Bing wrote in the early 1990s: "So it is today, where bullying behavior is
encouraged and rewarded in range of business enterprises. The style itself is
applauded in boardrooms and in business publications like Business Week, as "tough,"
"no nonsense," "hard as nails." When you see these code words, you know you're
dealing with the bully boss...thanks to the admiration in which bully management is held
in American business and academic gurus who perpetuate the techniques."

Incivility in the Workplace

Incivility has spread to the workplace with increasing frequency, resulting in a human
and financial toll. From 2011 to 2013, according to the report Civility in America: A
Nationwide Survey by the global public relations firm Weber Shandwick and KRC
Research, there has been an increase in Americans reporting they quit their job
because it was an uncivil workplace. Incivility can be the enemy of a collaborative
culture, argues Andy Polansky, CEO of Weber Shandwick.

The workplace is increasingly characterized by incidents of incivility and bullying, and

this may be part of a general societal trend, exacerbated by tough economic times. A
startling 37% of American workersroughly 54 million peoplehave been bullied at
work according to a 2010 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute. According to a
2007 survey by Zogby International, almost 50% of the U.S. workers report they have
experienced or witnessed some kind of bullyingverbal abuse, insults, threats,
screaming, sarcasm or ostracism. One study by John Medina showed that workers
stressed by bullying performed 50% worse on cognitive tests. Other studies estimate
the financial costs of bullying at more than $200 billion per year.

Over the past ten years, research investigating workplace incivility has estimated that
prevalence rates may be between 75% and 100%, meaning that nearly all employees
have experienced some level of incivility from their coworkers, supervisors, or
customers/clients. The exceptionally high frequency of occurrence for incivility is cause
for concern because research has consistently demonstrated that the effects of incivility
can compound over time. As a result, incivility has been shown to lead to a host of
deleterious effects on employee and organizational well-being. In terms of personal
outcomes, coworker incivility has been linked to higher levels of employee burnout,
feelings of strain, and decreased psychological well-being. In terms of organizational
outcomes, incivility has been related to employee withdrawal, decreased satisfaction,
and decreased performance.

Not only is incivility related to these negative effects on employees and organizations,
but it can also spiral out of control. That is, when someone perceives incivility from
another individual in the workplace, they may retaliate with an uncivil act of their own
(i.e., you were rude to me, Im going to be rude to you!), creating a spiral of incivility. In
such a spiral, retaliation occurs between two organizational members, increasing in
intensity and eventually escalating from minor deviant acts of incivility to overtly hostile
acts such as verbal aggression and even violence. As such, minor breaches in etiquette
could quickly grow out of hand.

Uncivil behaviors at work -- put-downs, sarcasm and other condescending comments --

tend to have a contagious effect, according to a new study by a management professor
at the University of Arkansas and several colleagues. Uncivil behaviors are less serious
than openly hostile behavior such as bullying, harassment and threats, but uncivil
behaviors are also more frequent in the workplace and have a significant effect on
employees, the study found.

"And it's probably costing companies a lot more money," said Chris Rosen, professor of
management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. "Estimates are that workplace
incivility has doubled over the past two decades and on average costs companies about
$14,000 per employee annually because of loss of production and work time."

"Basically, incivility begets incivility," said Rosen. "And our findings verify that these
contagion effects occur within very short, even daily cycles."

Many managers would say that incivility is wrong, but not all recognize that it has
tangible costs. Targets of incivility often punish their offenders and the organization,
although most hide or bury their feelings and dont necessarily think of their actions
as revenge. Through a poll of 800 managers and employees in 17 industries, we
learned just how peoples reactions play out. Among workers whove been on the
receiving end of incivility:

48% intentionally decreased their work effort.

47% intentionally decreased the time spent at work.
38% intentionally decreased the quality of their work.
80% lost work time worrying about the incident.
63% lost work time avoiding the offender.
66% said that their performance declined.
78% said that their commitment to the organization declined.
 25% admitted to taking their frustration out on customers.
Rudeness at work is contagious, says a study by three psychologists at Lund University
in Sweden. They surveyed nearly 6,000 people on the social climate in the workplace.
Their studies show that being subjected to rudeness is a major reason for
dissatisfaction at work and that unpleasant behaviour spreads if nothing is done about
it.

Russell Johnson, an associate professor of management at the Eli Broad College of

Business at Michigan State University, explains the subtlety of incivility, noting that it
does not involve openly hostile behavior, threats, or sabotage. As such, incivility is
more benign and does not warrant the same legal attention or formal sanctions as other
forms of mistreatment. Yet, it is a relatively frequent, low-intensity negative behavior that
has a substantial impact on employees.

It could be as simple as a sarcastic reply to a co-workers comment during a meeting.

Or a rude sentence in a poorly thought-out e-mail. Johnson believes our increasing
dependence on e-mail contributes to the rise in incivility. I think our communication is
less direct, he said. A lot of our communication is done over phone or e-mail. Its hard
to understand the intent of an e-mail without any additional language or social or facial
cues to go along with it. That creates more ambiguity. And it makes it easier to be
uncivil when youre not face-to-face with someone.

And one of the big problems is that incivility is sneaky. Its not in-your-face, like
harassment or bullying. Johnsons study notes that because incivility (a) reflects a mild
form of mistreatment that is likely to go unpunished, (b) is not limited to interactions with
those in authority positions, and (c) is easily denied and therefore excused, it occurs
more frequently than other forms of mistreatment and, thus, has the potential to create a
noxious social environment.

The Emotional Toll on Family Life

This comes into particular focus with a new study in the Journal of Management. A
research team lead by Sandy Lim from the National University of Singapore finds that
when people have hostile experiences at work, they're more likely to be angry or
withdrawn when they get home. Lim and her colleagues had 56 participants
averaging 39 years old, 72 percent women from a large public institution in
Southeast Asia report their emotional states on an online survey in the morning and
then again in the afternoon. Then, at night, their spouses would report on the way that
they acted. This went on over two working weeks.

In what will be no surprise to anyone who's ever worked with a contemptuous maniac,
when people had hostile work experiences one example from the study is if a
colleague "put you down or act[ed] condescending to you" they were less pleasant to
be around when at home. They would turn that anger outward, acting aggressively
toward their partners, or inward, withdrawing from them. "Our findings show that the
experience of incivility was positively related to feelings of hostility, which was in turn
associated with increased angry family behaviors, as rated by spouses," Lim and her
colleagues write. "This suggests that individual emotions do fluctuate on a day-to-day
basis in response to incivility at work, and these emotional responses can have
consequences even in the home environment." The research reinforces the link
between between how being in a hostile environment at work can lead to expressing
hostility in the home. Earlier studies found that working in high-risk occupations like
policing has an association with partner abuse, and that high workloads and time
pressure lead to emotional exhaustion.

The Costs of Incivility in Organizations

According to research, workplace rudeness does not get the same amount of attention
as workplace violence or harassment or even open conflict. However, rudeness on the
job can cost a company millions of dollars annually. Rudeness can have a direct effect
on employee productivity, morale, and absenteeism. There are four ways rudeness may
affect employee productivity. Employees tend to:

Spend time worrying about the uncivil incident or future interactions with the
instigator and waste time trying to avoid the instigator;
Deliberately become less committed;
Not involve themselves in tasks outside their job specifications and expend less
effort to meet responsibilities; and
Be less willing to help others, and reduce their contribution to the organization.
What can we do?

It is clear that incivilityin its many formscan be incredibly harmful to both individual
employees and to their employing organizations. What, then, should be done to reduce
incivility? Research investigating civility interventions is relatively new, but there are
some recommendations that might be effective in building a respectful work
environment. Perhaps one of the most important factors in maintaining a civil work
environment is to have a strong example set by management. That is, managers should
model civil behavior, helping create a culture of civility and respect. If managers
frequently violate social norms for courtesy and respect, employees might take this as a
cue that doing so is acceptable, and begin to be uncivil to each other. Managers should
realize that they are always on, and should be especially careful when interacting with
employees, whether these interactions are in-person or via email. By setting the tone for
the organization, managers can help create a culture of civility and respect at all levels
of the organization.
Aside from managers modeling behavior, organizations can also make sure that norms
for courtesy and respect are evident to employees from the recruitment stage.
Recruiters should have the people skills necessary to embody the civility norms of the
organization and set the stage for these expectations. During the selection phase,
employers can thoroughly check references for (among other things) indications of
consistent past rude behavior, as well as select on personality traits that might be
related to civil, respectful behavior (such as conscientiousness and agreeableness).
Upon employees entering an organization, onboarding programs can make civility
expectations clear, and issues related to interpersonal behavior can be discussed.
Emphasizing that employees should never be too busy to be nice should be a priority,
and this should be reiterated throughout the course of an employees career.

Overall, organizational leadership should take whatever steps they can to maintain a
civil climate, keeping in mind that promoting civility can both reduce negative employee
outcomes and increase organizational effectiveness. Maintaining a civil work
environment is not necessarily easy, particularly due to the fast-paced, often
interpersonally disconnected work environment, where communication is quick and
emails are may be sent without a thought. However, previous research indicates that it
can be done, and making efforts toward promoting civility will certainly pay off in the
long-term.

Numerous organizations, including the United States government, have actively

attempted to put in place measures to prevent incivility in the workforce. One measure
that was initiated to reduce workplace incivility, was processing cases of sexual to be
illegal, which is defined by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
as being against the law in every state to harass any person during the employment or
hiring process because of that person's gender. Harassment can include "sexual
harassment", but is not limited to workplace bullying, cyberbullying, physical and verbal
threats.] Although many would agree that sexual harassment is an issue that should be
illegal, it has really been in the spotlight of the attention in the U.S. since 1964. Because
of the legal ramifications from poor prior classification of sexual harassment cases in the
past, its boundaries were more loosely interpreted and more people were subject to
unwanted contact or attention. Since this the term has been redefined, people are
greater protected from a legal perspective in their place of work, but must actively
participate in preventing these issues by speaking up and/or reporting issues. The
definition for these laws are still being written today, as more people are speaking out
against the abuse.

The published research suggests that if organizations take a proactive role to eliminate
incivility and rudeness, they can be successful. The people who work in an organization
are influenced by the organizations policies and procedures. Rewards, respect and
recognition are key components to any rudeness and incivility management program.
The organization must develop a zero-tolerance policy toward incivility and rudeness by
creating and maintaining a culture that emphasizes respect among employees. How
employees are compensated or rewarded is critical. Favoritism and the lack of a
relationship between rewards and performance create mistrust and communicate the
absence of concern. Research suggests that an attitude of you dont care and respect
me leads employees to respond accordingly.

Finally, there are several recommendations that organizations should follow in their
efforts to develop and maintain a civil work environment:

The organization should create a policy on workplace civility.

Have someone on staff to train all employees on how to solve problems, manage
stress, and find non-threatening ways to vent anger and resolve conflict.
Have a formal mechanism through which employees can report aggressive
behaviors and stress the importance of using it.
Research also suggests principles that all managers should follow. These are to
be on time, discreet, courteous, and concerned about others not just yourself; to
dress appropriately; and to use proper written and spoken language.
However, in order to achieve the above, it is important that organizations set
expectations for how the workplace will operate and what behaviors will be tolerated.
These expectations must be defined and communicated and organizations need to
make sure the employees have a shared concept of respect. It is also critical that
employees are held accountable for any transgressions. Civility must be taught. The
organization should teach civility through conflict resolution training, negotiation and
training on dealing with different people, working in teams, stress management, active
listening skills, and coaching. In other words, todays company should listen carefully to
what is going on around them and when incivility occurs, respond to it. That seems to
be the final challenge since many instigators of rudeness are individuals in positions of
power.

Another solution may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20
states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In
Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation
that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some
European nations and New Zealand.

Finally, a renewed emphasis on civil behavior in our schools and homes will do much to
address the growing cancer of incivility we are witnessing in our society.

What happens when civility, reason, and a commitment to the greater good are left by
the wayside? Given enough time, signs of an internal breakdown begin to emerge.
Although these signs may be gradual at first, the lack of containment of bad behavior
guarantees its escalation. When uncivil behavior escalates far enough, trust, safety,
and optimism begin to diminish. People lose trust in leaders, in government, in their own
capacity to actually make a difference. There has never been a more important time to
re-establish the requirement for citizenship in a democracycivility.
STEPS TO A CIVIL WORKPLACE
Get it in the open: Civility should be a topic discussed in meetings throughout the organization.
Put it in writing: A code of conduct for employees and managers should be developed and be
publicly posted in workplaces and on the company's internal website.
Set enforcement standards: There should also be clear, written guidelines on steps that will be
taken to address uncivil behaviour.
Enforce consistently: Procedures for addressing uncivil behaviour should be enforced fairly for all
employees as well as managers.
Provide resources: Counselling, and opportunities for stress reduction and relaxation should be
available in the workplace.
Recommendations based on the Civility Scale Assessment, developed by Boise State University and
the CREW pilot program.
______
IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS
It doesn't take much to make a workplace more civil and improve staff morale:

Acknowledge others. Say good morning. Hold the door. Smile.

Respect your colleagues. Turn off cellphones and avoid texting while in meetings. Be punctual;
don't waste the time of others.
Be responsive. Reply promptly to e-mails, phone calls and requests for assistance or information.
Stay professional. Avoid gossip. Keep confidences.
Be supportive. Encourage your colleagues' efforts and ideas.
Wallace Immen
______
IMPACT OF BAD BEHAVIOUR
80%
Portion of workers who said they have been insulted or bullied in a workplace.

78%
Portion who said their commitment to the organization declined as a result.

63%
Portion who said they lost time at work to avoid the offender.

48%
Portion who intentionally decreased work effort after uncivil treatment.

47%
Portion who intentionally reduced time at work.

38%
Portion who said they intentionally allowed their work quality to slip

Source: Survey of 800 professionals for the book The Cost of Bad Behavior, by Christine Porath and
Christine Pearson.
IV. Definitions
Civility
Civility involves treating others with dignity and respect, and acting with regard to other's feelings.

Disrespect must not be confused with legitimate comment and/or advice from managers and supervisors on the work
performance or work-related behaviour of an individual or group. Feedback on work performance or work-related
behaviour differs from incivility or harassment in that feedback is intended to assist employees to improve work
performance or the standard of their behaviour.

Civility requires that even the most critical feedback be delivered respectfully, privately, and courteously.

Incivility
Incivility deals with a broad range of behaviours including, but not limited to, unprofessional behaviour; rudeness;
shouting or swearing; intimidation or bullying; threatening comments or behaviours/actions; unsolicited and
unwelcome conduct, comment (oral or written including email communication), gestures, actions or contact that
cause offense, humiliation, or physical or emotional harm to any individual.

Incivility can be subtle or overt. It may be a single event or may involve a continuing series of incidents, and may
involve the abuse of authority or position. Uncivil behaviour may be unintended or deliberately directed at another
individual. In any case, the impact on that individual is what must be addressed.

Incivility can also create a poisoned work environment, which may affect more than one employee.

Specific actions that are considered uncivil such as, comment or conduct that a person knows or ought to know would
be unwelcome, offensive, embarrassing or hurtful, rudeness, or display of offensive material can vary dramatically by
place, time and context. Differences including, but not limited to, social role, gender, social class, religion and cultural
identity may all affect the perception of a given behaviour. Consequently, a behaviour that is considered perfectly
acceptable by some people, and in some cultures, may be considered inappropriate and rude by others.

Although incivility may be subjective or unintentional, this does not excuse the behaviour. Rather, these factors may
provide an explanation that can help to resolve a complaint and guide future behaviour.

Many of the behaviours described above may fall within the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health
and Safety Act definitions of harassment. Harassment under the Ontario Human Rights Code occurs if the defined
behaviour is related to a protected personal characteristic under the Code, for example, comments or conduct related
to religion, race, disability, sex, gender or sexual orientation.

Workplace Harassment
Is defined under the Occupational Health and Safety Act as engaging in a course of vexatious comment against a
worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. It is not considered
harassment if an employer or supervisor were to take reasonable action, relating to the management and direction of
workers or the workplace. Workplace harassment includes workplace sexual harassment.

Workplace Sexual Harassment

Is defined under the Occupational Health and Safety Act as engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct
against a working in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the
course of comment is known or ought reasonably be known to be unwelcome, or making a sexual solicitation or
advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or
advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is
unwelcome
Note: Workplace Sexual harassment is also covered under the Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy.

Workplace Violence
The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act defines workplace violence as,

1. the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause
physical injury to the worker,

2. an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to
the worker,

3. a statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force
against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker.

04/01/2012

Managing Incivility in the Workplace

By Jeannie Trudel

Have you been the target of incivility in the workplace? What about the other way
around - have you engaged in uncivil behaviors at work? Workplace incivility is a
prevalent problem in many organizations and across varied industries. It is defined by
Anderson and Pearson (1999) as low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous
intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. Uncivil
behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for
others.

What does incivility in the workplace look like?

Uncivil behaviors include making condescending comments, writing demeaning notes

or emails, disrupting meetings, reprimanding someone publicly, talking behind
someones back, giving someone the silent treatment, not giving credit where credit is
due, sexually harassing employees, rolling your eyes, and yelling at others. Being
uncivil also includes excluding someone from a meeting, neglecting to greet someone,
cutting people off while they are speaking, leaving a jammed photocopier or printer
for another to fix, leaving a mess in the kitchen, listening in on anothers phone call,
ignoring a colleagues request, using disparaging language or voice tone, making
inflammatory remarks, etc.

Most of the above described behaviors appear to be minor and may be overlooked on
occasion, but over time and with frequency, have detrimental effects. Workplace
incivility is a unique challenge in organizations because it is ambiguous in nature, and
difficult to identify. It is too easy to deflect a claim of incivility on the basis of I
didnt mean it, He just had the wrong impression, I was not trying to be mean or
She is overly sensitive. Further, uncivil behaviors do not usually merit managerial
or organizational sanctions. Very few incidents of incivility are officially reported and
dealt with on an organizational or management level. Yet, these behaviors can make
an employee feel uncomfortable enough to derail an employees ability to move
forward, career-wise.

Effects of workplace incivility

Over time, the accrued minor stresses of incivility may lead employees who are
targets to miss work, lessen their loyalty to their organizations, lower their level of job
satisfaction and consider leaving their organizations. Workplace incivility also affects
mental health and well-being of employees. Even those who are onlookers can be
negatively affected as well. Targets of incivility cope by using different strategies,
which include conflict avoidance in different forms: working around the person who
is uncivil, passive aggressive behaviors, and changing work habits or paths.
Employees also lose work time due to worry and stress. These strategies can impact
both the individual and the organization in terms of productivity, career progression,
and employee retention.

Conditions that may lead to expressions of incivility

When an organization experiences pressures to change such as budget cuts,

management changes, workforce reduction, increased monitoring of employees, the
likelihood of negative behaviors including incivility increases. The prolific use of
email and voicemail appear to facilitate uncivil behaviors as well. Informal
organizations with less clearly defined behavioral boundaries may promulgate uncivil
behaviors. These workplaces are characterized by informal attire, free expression of
emotions and lack of formality in interpersonal relationships.
Uncivil behaviors may be considered a cause, trigger or outcome of a conflict episode.
Responses to uncivil behavior do, in large part, determine if such behaviors escalate in
subsequent exchanges. The proliferation and escalation of workplace incivility are in
part, determined by individual responses to perceived negative actions. Trudel and
Reio (2011) found that individuals who use a more collaborative style of conflict
management are less likely to engage in uncivil behaviors and also less likely to be
the targets of incivility. Those who have a more forceful or aggressive conflict
management style tend to be more likely to be uncivil and be targets of uncivil
behaviors.

How can career development professionals help?

We, as practitioners, can offer recommendations to help curb and manage workplace
incivility. Employers value good interpersonal skills which include managing
workplace relationships and conflict. As career professionals, we can help employees
and their supervisors develop skills and strategies that promote collaboration. Here are
some specific ways we can help organizations create a more civil and respectful
workplace:

Seek strategies or interventions that will address gaps in individual and group
interpersonal skills. For instance, develop conflict management or
communication skills training programs that focus on developing employees in
behaviors consistent with the collaborative conflict management style.
Offer other training interventions that could also include mediation or conflict
management trainings for supervisors, managers and other leaders. This may be
helpful in equipping organizational leaders to identify and manage uncivil
behaviors or conflicts before they escalate.
Help develop other HRD interventions including mentoring and coaching of
employees, particularly those in management positions, to improve
performance and interpersonal skills, helping them model civility and the
integrate conflict management style, as well as building their skills in
identifying incivility before it proliferates in the organization.
As career development practitioners working in organizations, consider
incorporating leadership programs that emphasize collaborative strategies and
appropriate modeling behaviors.
On an organizational level, support the creation of a culture that encourages
respect and civility, which is critical. This can be developed by recommending
to management, establishing policies and codes of conduct aimed specifically
 at encouraging respect and discouraging incivility. Left unchecked, uncivil
behaviors erode the norms of civility and become part of an organizations
culture.

A positive and productive work environment

It is clear that organizational factors play an important role in encouraging or curbing

workplace incivility. However, these do not detract from personal factors such as the
expected accountability of individuals behaviors and the influence of individual
personality traits in workplace interactions.

Managing and curbing the rise of incivility requires comprehensive strategies and
collaboration both at the individual and corporate levels. The development and
maintenance of a positive and productive work environment is critical to both career
and organizational success.

References

Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of
incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, 452-471.

Johnson, P. R., & Indvik, J. (2001). Slings and arrows of rudeness: incivility in the
workplace. Journal of Management Development, 20, 705-713.

Pearson, C. M., Andersson, L. M., & Porath, C. L. (2000). Assessing and attacking
workplace incivility. Organizational Dynamics, 29, 123137.
Trudel, J., & Reio, T. G., Jr. (2011). Managing workplace incivility: The role of
conflict management style-Antecedent or antidote? Human Resource Development
Quarterly, 224(4), 395-423.

Jeannie Trudel, Ph.D., is the Associate Vice President for

Strategic Initiatives, College of Adult Professional Studies at
Indiana Wesleyan University. She also teaches in the
graduate and undergraduate business programs. She
conducts trainings in conflict management, mediation,
diversity and anger management for corporate and non-
profit organizations. Formerly a practicing attorney in
Australia, she has served as court-appointed/ approved
mediator in Los Angeles, Boston, and Louisville. She can be
reached at jeannie.trudel@indwes.edu.
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Organizations have seen a drastic increase in the amount of workplace incivility that
employees experience on a weekly basis. Way back in in 1998, research revealed that
25% of employees experienced rudeness in the workplace at least once a week. A
decade later, nearly 50% of employees reported experiencing incivility in the workplace
at least once per week. Incivility is formally defined as insensitive behavior that displays
a lack of regard for others (Anderson & Pearson, 1999), and is very costly for
organizations as it is related to decreased performance and creativity, as well as
increased employee turnover.

As the modern workplace becomes increasingly fast-paced, technologically complex, and

impersonal, it is difficultinconvenient evento foster positive workplace relationships
and interactions. While civility research has tended to focus on negative, uncivil
behaviors, one research team (Porath, Gerbasi, & Schorch, 2015) is beginning to ask,
Can it pay to be nice?

DOES WORKPLACE CIVILITY LEAD TO SUCCESS?

Civility consists of a range of behavior that helps to cultivate mutual respect in the
workplace. Examples of civil behavior include actively listening to peers, including a
coworker in a conversation, and being mindful of others opinions or feelings. These are
qualities that should be desired and aspired to among coworkers and peers. Yet, the old
adage nice guys finish last suggests that being civil may be hazardous to ones career.
A recent two-part study of workplace civility investigated the extent to which behaving
civilly was related to positive workplace outcomes including performance, perceptions of
leadership ability, and perceptions of approachability.

THE BENEFITS OF WORKPLACE CIVILITY

To examine the actual effects of civil behavior, the researchers collected survey
responses from a team of research and development professionals within a biotechnology
firm. Each employee was asked to rate all of the other R&D employees on how civil they
were, the extent to which they would ask other employees for advice, and whether or not
they considered the other employees leaders in the organization. In addition to the survey
responses, the human resources department provided the researchers with performance
data on employees at the time of the study and one month after the study ended.

The results from the study revealed that individuals who rated employees as civil were
more likely to seek out the civil employee for work advice, and were more likely to perceive
the civil employee as a leader. In addition, when an individual was perceived as civil by
other coworkers, he or she exhibited higher performance than uncivil employees. In sum,
when employees engage in civil behavior they are seen as someone who is approachable
for advice, seen as a leader in the organization, and also demonstrate high performance.

WHY DOES CIVILITY YIELD BENEFITS?

After researchers determined that civil employees reap both social and performance
benefits, they conducted a second study to understand why civil behavior leads to positive
outcomes. In this study, 181 college students enrolled in a management course were
asked to read a scenario about an employee who was either civil, uncivil, or neutral, and
then give ratings of that employee.
The results of the study showed that civil employees were perceived as warmer and more
competent than uncivil or neutral employees. Further analyses demonstrate that civil
individuals evoke perceptions that they are warm and competent, thus leading to
perceptions of the individual as a leader and as an outlet for work advice.

Thus, civility extends beyond work behavior; civility increases the perception of an
individual as warm and competent, and these perceptions may boost civil employees
authority and effectiveness at work.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Because civility can foster positive workplace relationships and may result in higher
performance, organizations can benefit by making civility a priority. The researchers
suggest that civility could be an important factor in hiring new employees, selecting
employees into work teams, or identifying and promoting influential individuals. Although
civility research is in its infancy, the initial results indicate that engaging in civil behavior
can yield benefits for entire networks of individuals and the organization as a whole.

Though hiring civil employees is an effective way to promote civil behavior in an

organization, managers can also encourage current employees to become more civil. In
fact, workplace training that targets civil behavior may help improve workplace
relationships and interactions. Thus, civility training allows employees to practice active
listening, delivering positive feedback, and perspective-taking, which may make them
more effective employees and leaders.

Incivility Examples

- Unsolicited familiarity from colleague and students

- Secretiveness
- Ever increasing number of eleventh-hour email demands on the part of students for
accommodations to class obligations extensions on assignments, make-up examinations,
substitutions on assignments, recommendations requests, individualized presentation of
lectures
- Cell phones in a meeting; sleeping during meetings; talking amongst each other while a leader is
speaking, packing up to leave before the meeting is over
- Poor e-mail etiquette
- Discussion of sensitive issues in inappropriate places (hallways, general office, etc.)
- Finger pointing while shouting
- Faculty routinely dismissing academic staff by virtue of their status
- Men interrupting women
- Excessive swearing in casual conversation
- Being put down for having different ideas
- People using smokeless tobacco in a meeting and spitting into a cup
- Faculty talking down to APAS and employers not being fair and equitable in dealing with
employees
- Withholding information
- Coming to work drunk
- People wanting requirements changed for them
- Unfairness and poor judgment from an administrator and no place to go with it on campus
- Showing a lack of respect for the chain of command thus inappropriate actions in resolution of
problems an attitude of not looking at oneself, that it is always someone elses problem, then
overacting in meetings and gossiping about the supervisor very unprofessional and not very
insightful.
- Colleagues trying to intentionally prevent me from expressing my views in a meeting
- Packing up and leaving before an event has concluded
- Introduction of procedural delays preventing needed actions
- Invasion of my personal work space by others wanting to hold a conversation in the office
- Supervisors or co-workers creating situations where meeting deadlines are nearly impossible
yet if staff do the impossible, pull off deadlines and save the other persons reputation, thank
yous are forgotten and the extra work goes unnoticed.
- Judging/evaluating profs on their expressed opinions
- Faculty disrespect of a students time or for anyone not of faculty status
- Racial slurs or inappropriate language with respect to others; profane language
- Inappropriate use of email
- Name calling
- People in administration or simply faculty or academic staff dismiss ideas, concerns, etc.,
because classified staff is on the bottom of the totem pole
- Being lied to by management of passively aggressively ignored
- Deans, Chairs, and supervisors bullying classified staff
- Faculty often gather in the departmental office and have conversations oftentimes lengthy,
loud ones and other members come in and join them. Often time, it is difficult for the office staff
to work with that it is distracting, it is difficult to hear if you are on the phone or trying to talk
or work with another faculty member of student.
- Expectation of an immediate response to something that cant have an immediate response
- Those who know you and see you several times a day, but do not grant the courtesy of eye
contact or a greeting
- Reception areas that are not warm or friendly in any way when employees ignore the person
wanting help never say just a moment or Ill be right with you but continue a personal
conversation on the telephone or with a coworker.
- Not paying attention to details in job duties
- Management did not require a simple straight-forward apology from an offending party. By not
addressing it, management not only broadcast an example of rude, uncivil behavior, it sent the
message that this sort of behavior would be tolerated showing some staff have more rights and
leeway and are more valued than others. From that point a precedent was set. Thats how
uncivil behavior propagates condoning it.
- Supervisors yelling at me, telling lies, trying to make me or the job I do look bad; supervisors
blaming their mistakes on me, not respecting my opinion or ideas because I am not on the same
level even though I have more experience with the job
- Supervisors need to get off their pedestals and start to listen to people who really do the jobs
- Employees who undermine and/or negate the efforts of those who are working very hard
- New supervisors who seem to be on power trips making unilateral decisions, withhold
information that everyone in the area needs to know, and volunteer to do everything to gain
favor with higher supervisors, only to dump the work on others.
- Higher administrators who know about a person on campus that has alienated every co-worker,
is rude and obnoxious to faculty , other staff and students, but do nothing about it.
- Administrators attempting to control the work force with special treatment to certain
employees who lie, manipulate, and scheme their way into the confidence of the Administration
and supervisor.
- Taking credit for the work done by another staff member