Consider the many times colleagues speak to one another in a day. You may want to be mindful next time you utter some sly comment — it turns out that rudeness in the workplace is contagious.
Three researchers in the psychology department of Sweden’s Lund University found that being subjected to rude behavior in the work environment largely contributes to employees’ dissatisfaction, and that sort of behavior spreads if it is not controlled or acted upon.
The research team was interested in the social process, including the target of rude behavior, the witness and the instigator, according to a Friday release. To learn about the phenomenon of social climate in the workplace, they surveyed almost 6,000 people.
Of those surveyed, a total of 75 percent said they experienced rudeness at work at least once or twice a year.
In the study, “rudeness” referred to behavior including underhanded comments, excluding coworkers, taking credit for others’ work or behavior that goes against the norm in a company.
The most common cause of acting rudely is imitating the behavior of coworkers, the study found. Eva Torkelson, an associate professor at Lund University and the lead researcher on the project, said that witnessing colleagues act in an uncivil manner actually instigated the negative behavior. In short, exposure to rudeness makes it more noticeable in our minds.
“Unexpectedly, it was found that especially witnessing co-worker incivility related to instigated incivility via interactions with perceived high control or high social support. Maybe if you are embedded in the organization, it is easier to participate in uncivil acts,” Torkelson wrote in an email.
The study reached the conclusion that there’s a risk of rudeness becoming a vicious circle when people imitate others’ behavior.
And while previous research has also found that to be true, William Kahn, a professor in Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, said the idea is complicated, and the behavior not always intentional. He then said there’s a thin line separating what people intend to say and do and what they actually say and do — intention and execution. People’s impulses and frustrations are sometimes brought into the workplace, which is when a workplace environment risks being introduced to a cycle, for instance.
“Once someone actually acts on those impulses and is rude to someone else, and that is greeted with silence … then others around them think [the conduct is] legitimated,” Kahn said. “If it happens again over and over, there’s a tipping point, and people begin to think it’s okay to take out our fear, frustration and impulses on others.”
A question that also rises is whether employees are conscious of the potentially negative effects of their behavior. Torkelson said she thinks that employees probably do not reflect upon incivility and its effects.
The results of this type of behavior are harmful, and they aren’t just minor details that can be ignored. Previous research points to less efficient work, mental illness, job dissatisfaction and employees seeking different jobs as a result of rudeness, the release said.
Michel Anteby, also a professor in Questrom, wrote in an email that he thinks work cultures are the underbelly of organizations. He said many studies have shown that people who fit with a specific culture have higher chances of promotion, longer tenure and overall satisfaction at work.
Torkelson said in the press release that she believes properly training managers and staff is the solution.
“When people become aware of the actual consequences of rudeness, it is often an eye-opener,” she said. “And, of course, most people do not want to be involved in making the workplace worse.”
Kahn, however, said the root of change is the individual, though he recognized the importance of training sessions.
“The only thing that changes behaviors are people that have the courage to speak up and say, ‘That’s not okay,’” he said. “That has to happen formally and informally, by superiors, coworkers, everyone.”
One way to ensure optimal productivity and performance, according to Questrom professor Jim French, is through respect.
“What I discovered over a long career,” he said, “is that treating people the right way and doing the right thing leads to greater productivity and production, and that’s a wonderful thing.”