Incivility Takes a Hit on Worker Mental Health, SHRM Data Finds

Societal incivility dipped slightly in the second quarter of the year, but workplace incivility remained the same and overall incivility is still a concern, according to the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index. Those findings indicate that employers must remain vigilant over incidents of incivility among workers to create a more productive and healthier organization — as well as to better support employees’ mental health.

On average, when U.S. workers were asked about incivility they personally experienced or witnessed in their everyday lives — both in and out of work — over the past month, they scored a 47.3 out of 100. That is a decrease from the 48.8 score in Q1 2025 and marks the second straight quarter in which small decreases have occurred. Civility Index scores are calculated on a 100-point scale, with 0 being that incivility never occurs and 100 being that incivility almost always occurs.

Meanwhile, the workplace-level civility score is better than the societal one: When workers were asked about incivility they personally experienced or witnessed while at work over the past month, they scored an average of 38.8. That’s the same workplace score as in Q1 2025.

While the latest data from the Civility Index indicates that uncivil behaviors may have tapered down since the 2024 election season — incivility hit an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2024 in the midst of the U.S. presidential election — differences in political viewpoints and reactions to President Donald Trump’s second term remain common reasons for incivility, the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index found. 

Another area contributing to incivility? Concerns of a U.S. economic recession and how it may lead to company cutbacks or layoffs. 

Economic concerns appeared in the list of the top 10 contributors to incivility in the workplace for the first time since Q3 2024, according to the Civility Index. That’s likely due to recent economic volatility, SHRM researchers said, as concerns related to the economy have increased since the beginning of the year. Concerns over the state and direction of the U.S. economy saw a 3-percentage-point rise, while concerns about a potential recession and its impact on company cutbacks or layoffs rose by 4 percentage points.

A Negative Impact on Mental Health

Incivility is costing organizations billions of dollars in reduced productivity and absenteeism — but it’s also hurting organizations in the form of employees’ mental health, according to the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index. 

Of U.S. workers who have witnessed or experienced acts of incivility in the workplace in the past month, more than half (53%) reported that these acts of incivility negatively impacted their mental health. Women are 21% more likely to report that acts of incivility in the workplace negatively impacted their mental health compared to men (58% versus 48%).  

The impact of uncivil moments on mental health is something SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, said he’s personally experienced. 

“There were several days when I woke up, I was having a great day. And I’d walk out of my hotel room or walk into an office and someone would do something uncivil toward me, and it would literally screw up my day,” Taylor said May 27 during a SHRM webinar, explaining that he once had a negative interaction with someone just before a TV appearance that impacted his performance.

That negative attitude can then trickle down to others, including in the workplace, Taylor said. Overall, it can have a widespread negative effect on organizations.

Indeed, according to the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index, U.S. workers who receive little support from their manager in moving past incidents of incivility are nearly 48% more likely to look for another job, compared to those who receive high support.  

“Civility is a powerful antidote to negative employee mental health,” Taylor said. “It’s nice to say, ‘Be civil toward each other,’ but you actually can overall improve by infusing elements of civility.”

During the webinar, Marjorie Morrison, executive in residence for mental health at SHRM, added that micro-moments can have a big impact on promoting civility in the workplace — actions such as saying hello to co-workers or telling a colleague that they did a good job on a project and showing gratitude for them. “If you spend more time on the positives people do, the gratitude that you have, that feels intentional,” Morrison said.

Additionally, according to the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index, the steps most frequently taken by U.S. workers to maintain their mental health in response to workplace incivility include setting work/life boundaries (55%), talking with people outside of work (51%), deep breathing (49%), and taking regular breaks at work (48%).