Bringing civility back into the workplace
It seems like today’s workplace has become a lot less civil than it used to be. Why is that? And is there anything we can do about it?
Industrial psychologist Dennis Davis, who works for the law firm Ogletree Deakins and is a regular speaker at employment law conferences, offers some theories on both questions.
First, Davis examines the causes of insensitive, impolite and downright mean behavior among employees:
‘Might makes right’
Our own leaders and politicians have set the worst example. All pretense of civility is gone from the bipartisan bickering in deeply divided Washington, DC, and from the national political scene. Both sides try to impose their will on the other side by any means, shouting down the opposition and using any possible method to further one’s own cause and one’s own interests.
And never mind the international scene. Wars and other smaller conflicts fill the TV news screens every day and the people with the biggest guns and the most firepower seem to be winning most of the time to legitimize their cause. In international conflicts, diplomacy is taking a back seat most of the time these days.
Small wonder then that bullying is rampant, not only in schools, where it has become a major problem among children, but also in the workplace. What makes it worse for employers is that bullying, if not dealt with immediately and forcefully, is often a prelude to – and can lead to – workplace violence, Davis says.
Bullies still get away with their hurtful and damaging tactics many times because we have allowed a situation to develop in which there are no consequences for bad behavior.
Everybody has an excuse
Some people call this phenomenon “excuse-ism.” It’s been made worse by some of the modern social sciences that tend to blame people’s upbringing, an abusive parent, or some other outside influence, for misbehavior – or worse, outright criminality of the worst kind.
Some of the newest employment legislation has made it a challenge to discipline some people, too.
The recent expansion of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it clear that things like alcoholism, drug dependency and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are now recognized disabilities and that employers need to make a reasonable effort to accommodate those disabilities.
The net effect is that nobody takes responsibility for his or her own actions anymore. “My disability made me do it,” or something similar, seems to be the watchword of the day.
Grade inflation
People think more of themselves than their performance warrants – and supervisors are often complicit in that.
The complicity comes from the performance review process, in which supervisors are notorious for avoiding confrontation and letting sub-standard performers slide by, giving them a “C” or an “average” rating, or a “3” on the dreaded five-point scale, which is almost always a cop-out.
Supervisors just don’t want to deal with problematic behavior or with giving specific feedback on performance problems. They don’t have the time, they can’t be bothered or they’re afraid to confront the employee in need of correction. But the net effect is this: If it wasn’t documented and written down in a performance review, it’s as if the offensive behavior hadn’t happened, Davis advises. It simply didn’t exist at all.
If an employer later wants to discipline an employee for the same lapses in performance, the employer will have a very hard time making progressive discipline stick, since no previous incident was ever recorded. As a result, the employee can say with a straight face: “I had no idea” – and have his plaintiff’s attorney win an employment lawsuit for reinstatement.
The shock value effect
People may also engage in inappropriate or even outrageous behavior just for shock value, Davis says.
Resources
Post Your Resume to 65+ Job Sites
Resume Service
