civility
August 1, 2010
Imagine working where information flowed freely, collaboration was the norm and mutual respect prevailed. In 2007, Cisco Systems’ revenue exceeded $34 billion. The company attributes its success to civility. Cisco developed a comprehensive plan to assure respectful employee interactions after studying the cost of incivility among non- Cisco employees. A detailed analysis can be found in Pearson’s and Porath’s book, The Cost of Bad Behavior.
April 1, 2010
Professional courtesy is declining. We may blame it on economy-related stress; having no time for nice during financial insecurity. A number of surveys indicate coworkers as the primary source of incivility. The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology surveyed 1100 workers; 71% had experienced workplace incivility in the past five years.
October 1, 2009
Many people think being civil is the same as having good manners. Civility includes getting along, sometimes to the extent of making sacrifices for the good of the whole group. Civility also includes a sense of reciprocity. Workplaces have a set of unspoken rules for verbal and non-verbal behaviors which reflect the level of respect and civility that exists. Such rules are established by example of all levels of management.
June 1, 2009
We can laugh at the pointy-haired boss whom Dilbert suffers and with Michael Scott on “The Office” because almost everyone has had a bad boss. More than one study reveals nine-out-of-ten employees have worked for a bad manager. John Hollon of Workforce Management recently proclaimed Sam Zell, the CEO of the Tribune Company as the winner of the Stupidus Maximus Award. This award honors the most ignorant, shortsighted and dumb workforce management practitioner of the year.