Is Your Culture Costing You?

Have you ever noticed something that is not right, but is so commonplace that you take it for granted? Ever consider that that issue may have a large impact and could be changed? Workplace incivility, rudeness, and bullying may seem like a standard part of most jobs, but it may also be the silent killers of a company. Medically, hypertension (high blood pressure) is known as the silent killer because it has few symptoms and destroys the organs in your body over time. In the corporate world, a culture of rudeness may be destroying productivity and the health of your employees.

Does incivility really affect my business?

Just think about your own experiences, and the way you react in response to negativity in the workplace. That experience is even shown to have a correlation to mental illness, shown by this meta-analysis (research that compiles a lot of studies about the same topic together).

If you still don’t believe that your negative workplace environment is problematic, take a look at some of the ways employees respond to rudeness at work based on a study described in “The Price of Incivility”, an in-depth article in the Harvard Business Review.

Full article: Harvard Business Review

A poll of 800 managers and employees showed:

• 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.
• 12% said that they left their job because of the uncivil treatment.
• 25% admitted to taking their frustration out on customers.

To sum up, incivility costs your business a lot of money in ways that are hard to measure but are very real. Decreased productivity, less time spent at the office, and lower quality of work are just some of the ways people are negatively affected by rudeness at work.

What can you do?

There are ways of changing culture within your organisation, as suggested in the article above. These include rewarding civility, taking into account interpersonal interactions as part of yearly reviews, and giving bonuses for people being especially nice. Also, try to hire with these interactions in mind: your “best” employee creating a bad atmosphere may cost more than that person can make you. You can also spark a trickle-down effect by having your managers and leaders agree to model good behavior for everyone else.

A recent ABC News opinion article, A Handy Guide to How to Avoid the Spread of Rudeness at Work, describes tips and tricks for the workplace:

Can HSG help you with decreasing rudeness, incivility, and bullying at your workplace?

HSG offers a variety of workshops that looks at your businesses values, improve the culture of your company, and can help decrease rudeness:

Take a look at our Organisational Culture Change programs and get your company on the right track. With our huge range of other services, we can tailor our approach to suit the individual needs of your organisation. Call us today on 1300 889 073 to learn what we can do to address your cultural and wellness goals.