Customization to Support Your Culture
Ethics and Compliance
One in four employees have experienced rude, disrespectful or aggressive behavior at work, according to a recent survey. Ethisphere’s 2023 ethical culture report saw a similar trend: during the past few years, reports of workplace bullying jumped from 20.1% to 33%.
National Civility Month, observed each August, is a dedicated time to remind individuals and organizations of the importance of respect, empathy, kindness, and open-mindedness in everyday interactions. This month encourages everyone to reflect on how their behavior impacts those around them and to counter rising levels of incivility.
Why does National Civility Month matter?
Incivility isn’t just a social issue, it’s a business one. Whether it’s passive-aggressive comments, exclusionary behaviors, or open hostility, toxic conduct can spread rapidly and erode even the most well-intentioned culture. National Civility Month offers a powerful opportunity to:
- Educate teams around civil behavior, setting expectations for employees should treat one another.
- Address rising workplace tension, burnout and conflict through practical, skills-based learning.
- Build inclusion, equity, and psychological safety, which are important for retention and innovation.
When practicing kindness and empathy, workplace culture and organizational performance improve, which contributes not just to a healthier company but also to a more harmonious society.
What is workplace civility?
Workplace civility is not about agreeing with someone or pretending to. Civility is about making people feel valued, respected and heard. It’s the ability to respectfully disagree, listen to others and consider different views and perspectives. Conversely, a pattern of incivility and rudeness can have serious consequences, negatively affecting stress levels and mental wellbeing, absenteeism, turnover, engagement, job satisfaction and productivity.
And if left unchecked, rude, toxic behaviors may lead to allegations of harassment, discrimination and bias. Former EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum put it this way: “We know that workplace incivility often acts as a ‘gateway drug’ to workplace harassment.’
What can organizations do to get out in front of workplace incivility and potential problems that may follow? Here are 5 best practices.
- Communicate early and often – Take every opportunity to clearly communicate the organization’s expectations for respectful, civil behavior from all employees, at every level. When interviewing candidates, include a discussion about your organization’s culture and values. During the onboarding process, reinforce what respectful, civil conduct looks like in how individuals and teams interact in their day-to-day work. And make sure that everyone understands that policies and laws pertaining to discrimination and harassment and bullying apply in the remote workplace.
- Help managers improve communication and leadership skills – Managers’ words and actions can mean the difference between a respectful, psychologically safe work environment, in which employees feel supported and valued and one where employees (if they stay) are disengaged, unmotivated and afraid to speak up. Training managers on how to communicate effectively and ask for honest feedback creates deeper connections and transparency that can translate into better teamwork and morale.
- Build trust and collaboration with bystander intervention training – Employees who know how to safely use bystander intervention techniques when they see inappropriate behavior can make a big impact in stopping harassing and discriminatory behavior, preventing future incidents and supporting coworkers who are targets of misconduct. Along with bystander intervention training, providing supervisors with training on managing difficult employees can help them more effectively identify and address disruptive conduct and reduce the potential risks and impact of negative behaviors.
- Implement reporting procedures for misconduct – A main reason why misconduct is underreported and often unaddressed is that employees may not know how to respond to offensive behavior or may fear retaliation if they do. Encourage employees to report misconduct by implementing a formal complaint process, explaining how the process works and providing different reporting options. Another best practice: train managers and supervisors on how to handle complaints of discrimination and harassment and avoid retaliation.
- Embed civility and respect in workplace policies and handbooks – As part of your written code of conduct, employee handbook and other workplace policies and practices, outline in simple terms and real-world examples the behaviors you expect from all employees— regardless of title or seniority — and the values, standards, rules and best practices to follow.
