9Incivility in the Workplace

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From Road Rage To Desk Rage Incivility in the
Workplace
John Fuller, Ed.D. Director Office of Workforce
Diversity Johns Hopkins Hospital
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Workplace Dynamics
Work Background
Disability
Thinking Style
Age
Education
Income
Sexual Orientation
Race
Marital Status
Gender Identification
Disability
Parental Status
Ethnicity
Military Experience
Geographic Location
Generational Values/Motivations
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When you left for work this morning, what did you
leave behind?

• Your opinions? Your background?
• Your generation? Your native language?
• Your doubts? Your children?
• Your secrets? Your real hairstyle?
• Your race? Your politics?
• Your ethnicity? Your gender?
• Your sexual orientation? Your personality?
• Your uniqueness? Your ideas?
• Positive Dynamic or Perfect Storm?

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Current Headlines

• Fearing Long Recession, Employers Halt Hiring
• Foreclosures Increasing Housing Bottom Not in
  Sight
• Politics Can Chill Water Cooler Chatter
• Workplace survey by Vault Politics 46 had
  witnessed a political argument between co-workers
• Job Losses Accelerate Signaling Deeper Distress
• Harris Interactive Poll indicates that 7 out of
  10 area residents say jobs and money are
  significant sources of stress exceeding the
  national average

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How Does It Make You Feel?

• Commuting to work and someone cuts you off nearly
  causing you an accident? What if it was a
  coworker who did this to you?
• Seeing others talking on the phone while driving
  and not paying attention? In the fast lane?
• Weaving in and out of traffic like stunt drivers?
• Riding behind someone with a political bumper
  sticker? In the fast lane going 55 in a 55 mph
  zone in front of you?
• Late because of an accident backing up traffic.
• Gas Prices/Current Financial Crises/your 401/402?

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Minding Your Metro MannersRidership Has Grown

• Keep your music to yourself. Personal music
  players keep volume so others cannot hear
• Cell phone conversation no one wants to hear
  your medical ailments or other personal
  information
• Keep your germs to yourself
• Be mindful of fellow riders private space
• Watch your body parts while standing or sitting
• No food and please take baths before boarding!

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Reuters Report on Desk RageAugust 2008

• 50 of all workers report yelling and verbal
  abuse on the job with 25 stating being driven to
  tears.
• 2-3 percent admit hitting, pushing, or slapping
  someone at work.
• 100 million in the workforce that amounts to as
  many as 3 million people.
• One sixth of US Workers reported anger at work
  has led to property damage and a tenth reported
  physical violence at the workplace fearing for
  safety.
• Contemporary pressures such as rising fuel costs
  fan the flames.
• People coming to work after a long commute
  sitting in traffic, watching their discretionary
  income burn up.
• They are already for a fight or just really
  upset.

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Derailing Behaviors

• MICRO INEQUITIES
• Definition Tiny damaging discriminatory action
  or comment which normally one cannot do anything
  about. Yet they are incredibly damaging

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DERAILING BEHAVIORSCarry A Powerful Impact

• Doesnt Matter What Message You Send
• Only the Message That Was Received!
• Co-Responsibility

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Examining Costs of Employee Turnover Due to
Derailing Behaviors

• Administrative including time spent copying
  documents, scheduling appointments, coordinating
  with hiring manager.
• Interview Related including reference checks,
  emails, mailings, postage, resume screening,
  criminal/credit checks, medical exams, drug
  tests, orientation materials and presentations.
• Outgoing Employee including paid accrued
  vacation, separation bay, continued benefits,
  processing benefits, payroll processing,
  unemployment compensation

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Employee Dignity Entitlements

• PEOPLE IN THIS ORGANIZATION
• Receive recognition in proportion to their
  contribution.
• Are treated as unique individuals not
  stereotyped.
• Receive fair coaching and feedback to enhance
  their skills and are clear about what is
  expected.
• Receive negative feedback in private in a manner
  that exhibits respect.
• Receive a hearing about any concern or
  opportunity they want to bring to the attention
  of the organization.
• Receive a fair opportunity to compete for jobs
  when available.

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Derailing BehaviorsYou Think YOUR Boss is Bad?

• People not being told what is expected of them,
  then chastised for failing to perform.
• People being promoted to appease them.
• People being intentionally ignored as a way to
  belittle them.
• People being left out of the loop in important
  information, intentionally to hurt their
  performance.
• People deserving promotions being overlooked to
  punish them.
• People Join Companies But they leave Managers
• Gallup Quote

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INCIVILITY

• Incivility is evidenced by disrespectful
  behavior. It undermines the dignity and
  self-esteem of employees, creating unnecessary
  suffering.
• 28 lost work time avoiding the instigator of the
  incivility
• 53 lost time worrying about the incident/future
  interactions
• 37 believe their commitment at work declined
• 22 have decreased their effort at work
• 10 decreased the amount of time that they spent
  at work
• 12 actually changed jobs to avoid the instigator

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Acts of Incivility by Management

• Manager who never recognizes the
  contributions/achievements of staff instead
  pounces on every mistake. Nitpicking
• Manager meetings with staff members that often
  begin with Do you mean to tell me or saying
  Off the record
• No Developmental Assignments
• No Constructive Feedback or Mentoring
• Limited Expectations
• Not evaluated fairly based on performance, rather
  on personality style, professional background,
  age, race, gender, religion, disability or sexual
  orientation.

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Informal Survey Results from MIT Study

• 56 reported Rude intentional disregard of a
  persons presence and intentional actions that
  embarrass or devalue
• 53 reported Blatantly rude/Lack of manners or
  common courtesy
• 32 Reported Repeated unjustified criticism
  designed to demoralize
• 34 reported Confrontational in your face
  demeanor.
• 62 reported Back-Stabbing Unfairly criticizing
  behind their backs for personal gain.

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Workplace BullyingInappropriate interpersonal
behaviors workers are subject to through their
employment

• Persistent unjustified criticism
• Public humiliation
• Threats to professional standing
• Scrutiny of work
• Unfair allegations of incompetence
• Can be verbal or horizontal (other colleagues)
• Stalking and intrusion can lead to physical
  violence

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Who Does the Bullying?

• Men and women bully and are bullied
• Women bullies target women 84 of the time
• Men bullies target women 69 of the time
• Women are more likely to report bullying
• About 1 in 100 who experience egregious bullying
  either attempts or succeeds to commit suicide
• Most people who are bullied report damage to
  their health
• Overwhelming majority of bullies are repeat
  offenders
• Bullying is responsible for 1 resignation in 4

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Who Actually Commits Work Related Acts of
Incivility or Bullying?
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Did you know.

• Job discrimination complaints rose 9 in Fiscal
  Year 2007 to nearly 88,000.
• The EEOC collected over 345 million in
  settlements in FY 2007.
• 18 of all Federal Sexual Harassment federal
  charges nationwide were filed by men in 2007
• Offensive is in the eye of the beholder or the
  recipient of the behavior. If you make comments
  that you feel are not offensive and the recipient
  says they are..then they are!
• An estimated 71 percent of the workforce has
  experienced some form of workplace incivility in
  the past five years.

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Examples of Sexual Harassment Incivilities and
Behaviors

• Email, I-Phone, Internet Reality, pager messages,
  sexual objects, letters, phone calls,
  inappropriate sites displayed on computer,
  discussing sexual escapades or television
  explicit ads
• Unwanted touching, hugging, jokes,
  pinching,leering, etc.
• Comments Hey Baby give me a smile, You look
  like you are ready for bed in those hospital
  greens I am ready for bed too
• Unacceptable Music - Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
  Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp
• Unwelcome and persistent requests for dates or
  sexual advances.

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Hostile Working Environment

• Must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to
  create an abusive work environment.
• Does not refer to occasional compliments of a
  socially acceptable nature.
• It can be based on martial status, pregnancy,
  race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age,
  disability, religion, sexual orientation or
  identity, personal appearance, veteran status or
  any other legally protected characteristic.
• It does refer to behavior that is not welcome,
  which is personally offensive, that debilitates
  morale, and which interferes with work
  effectiveness.

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Who Should Help Stop Workplace Incivilities?

• S- The Source of the Behavior
• - Stop the Harassing Behavior
• T - The Target of the Behavior
• -Tell the source to stop and/or report the
  behavior
• Express your feelings Say it is unwelcome
• O- Any Observer of the Behavior
• -No such thing as an innocent bystander.
• P- Any Person in Authority
• -A Duty Exists

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Cashing in on Generational DiversityFrom
Culture Clash to Valuable Business AssetY Text
Speak

• Thx for the Iview! I Wud to Work 4 U!!
  )
• 1 out of every 10 thank you emails contain smiley
  faces sent to hiring managers.
• It is natural communication for this generation
  but probably not for X or Baby Boomers!

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Four Generations At Work

• Traditionalists (born 1922-1943)
• Baby Boomers (born 1943-1960)
• Generation X (born 1960-1980)
• Millenials (born 1980-2000)

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Generations at Work

• The events and conditions each of us experience
  during our formative years help define who we are
  and how we view the world.
• The generation we grow up in is just one of the
  influences on adult behavior.

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Values

• Boomers
• Optimism
• Team orientation
• Personal gratification
• Involvement
• Personal growth

• Traditionalists
• Hard work
• Dedication sacrifice
• Respect for rules
• Duty before pleasure
• Honor

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Values

• Xers
• Diversity
• Techno literacy
• Fun and informality
• Self-reliance
• Pragmatism (Common Sense)

• Millenials
• Optimistic
• Feel civic duty
• Confident
• Achievement oriented
• Respect for diversity

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Generational Feedback

• Traditionalists No news is good news.
• Boomers Feedback once a year and lots of
  documentation.
• Xers Sorry to interrupt but how am I doing?
• Millenials Feedback whenever I want it at the
  push of a button.

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Generational Interaction An Example

• Traditionalists and Boomers
• may have a tendency not to
• question or challenge
• authority or the status quo.
• This may cause confusion
• and resentment among the
• Xers and Millenials who
• have been taught to speak
• up.

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All Employees Remember This

• We all report to someone. Experts say it is
  good to remember that todays managers have a lot
  of responsibilities increasing revenue, keeping
  customers, i.e., patients or students happy,
  managing a diverse workforce that comprises four
  generations of people who are motivated and
  fulfilled differently based upon their culture.
  A little empathy for the boss cant hurt.
• Maybe, just maybe the problem may be you!