5 Simple Ways to Address Incivility in the Workplace

I was waiting in a security line at the airport last week when someone brushed past the woman and child behind me to jump the line. I was struck by the rudeness—and boldness—of this act of incivility and so I discreetly pointed it out to the offender. They responded by raising their voice, denying the act and telling me to mind my own business in a fit of profanity. Whew! That took the initial incivility to a whole other level!

Anyone I ask lately agrees that they sense a decline in civility in society. From what we observe in interactions between our political leaders, to witnessing road rage, to social media vitriol, everyone seems to have a recent experience with incivility. In fact, according to an annual survey conducted by the American Bar Association, a “massive 85 percent of U.S. residents believe civility is worse compared to 10 years ago.” This may be disappointing, but what does this have to do with our workplaces?

It turns out that there is a direct link between what people experience outside of work and how they treat people at work. Incivility is contagious. Left unaddressed, people who experience it outside of work are inclined to repeat this behavior with their co-workers. And given how much we have all been dealing with outside of work (such as the global pandemic, economic uncertainty and war), many victims of incivility are inclined to just look the other way and not take action in response to incivility. This may be easier in the short term, but research demonstrates that this can have long-term negative consequences—both for our workplaces and the people who work in them.

As Christine Porath writes in her 2016 book, Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace (Balance): 1) The effects of your words and deeds ripple far beyond the people working directly with you. If you’re uncivil to someone, expect that he or she will pass it on. 2) When you’re civil, you contribute to a cycle that fosters greater civility across all of your networks.

As she also explores at length in her book, “[t]he human and business costs of incivility are much greater than you think.”

So how can we address incivility at work? There are a number of relatively simple things that employers can do to be proactive.

Review Policies

Most policies define inappropriate behavior as anything that violates human rights or other legislative requirements. However, there is much disrespectful and uncivil behavior that occurs in the workplace that never meets those definitions. Increasingly, employers are updating their policies to make clear the expectation that the standard of behavior in their workplace is one of respect and civility.

​Conduct Civility Training

Like the policies that only reference harassment and discrimination, much “respect at work” training reviews only these definitions, when in fact the vast majority of inappropriate behavior that people encounter at work does not meet these definitions. Even though some might argue that less serious forms of incivility and disrespect need not be policy issues, these behaviors can nonetheless have a profound impact on employees’ well-being and their ability to do their jobs. In addition, there are many behaviors which might be considered only uncivil or disrespectful on a one-time occurrence, but which could rise to the level of harassment if left unaddressed. For all these reasons, the most effective training discusses these types of behaviors and provides employees with mechanisms for addressing them.

​Monitor Progress

Most research on harassment notes that only about 25 percent of people report this behavior in their workplaces. It would seem likely that even fewer would report incidents of incivility. Organizations often mistakenly assume that their workplaces must be respectful if no one has complained, when in fact they may just have never asked. If an organization really wants to find out if they have a culture of respect and civility, they should check proactively. This can be done in a variety of ways, from employee engagement surveys asking targeted questions to more formal workplace assessments or reviews.

​Rinse and Repeat

Maintaining a culture of respect and civility takes work, and ongoing attention. One policy and training session might elevate things for a short period of time, but in order to truly communicate the organization’s commitment to culture, ongoing work must be done. Policy reviews and training should take place on a regular basis—things will be identified over time that can help improve the “respect in the workplace system.” More time spent on these initiatives also signals to staff how committed the organization is to creating and maintaining a respectful workplace culture.

Address Issues When They Arise

Nothing sends a stronger message about how little value an organization places on its culture than when an employee complains or reports an incident of incivility or disrespect and nothing is done. It is critically important for organizations to address these issues when they become aware of them, and even more important to be sure that the employee who raised the issue knows that it has been addressed.

Taking steps now to increase civility in the workplace will enhance employees’ ability to perform to their potential during these difficult times.

Christine Thomlinson is an attorney with Rubin Thomlinson LLP in Toronto. © 2024 Rubin Thomlinson. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.