Class presentation

1. WORKPLACE
INCIVILITY 
Co-Presented by:
L i n Yi
Qi Zhegang
Yin H a o

2. OUTLINE 
¡ Definition
¡ Research Background
¡ Forms of Incivility
¡ Costs of Incivility
¡ What’s a Leader to Do
¡ Global Approach
¡ Conclusion

3. DEFINITION 
¡ Workplace incivility: defined as a form of
organizational deviance… characterized by low-
intensity behaviors that violate respectful workplace
norms, appearing vague as to intent to harm.”
¡ Incivility is distinct from violence
¡ Examples include:
Ø Insulting comments
Ø Not giving credit where due
Ø Spreading false rumors
Ø Social isolation
Ø Bad manners

4. RESEARCH BACKGROUND 
Motivation of Research:
¡ Rudeness at work is rampant, and it’s on the rise
¡ Consequences have been severe, e.g. low morale of
staff, broken customer relationships, ruined reputation
Methodology of Research:
¡ Interviews, questionnaires, experiments, workshops, etc.
¡ Collected data from14,000+ people in US and Canada
Two Key Findings of Research:
¡ Incivility is expensive
¡ Few organizations recognize or take action to curtail it

5. FORMS OF INCIVILITY 
2) “Boss from hell” à destroy lower level staff’s
1) Show indifference towards co-workers confidence and morale at work
(esp. those who are seeking for help);
3) Isolation 4) Absent-minded during meetings/ presentations 

6. COSTS OF INCIVILITY 
¡ Through a poll of 800 managers and employees in 17
industries, we learned how people’s reactions play out.
Among workers on the receiving end of incivility:

7. COSTS OF INCIVILITY 
¡ Many managers would say that incivility is wrong, but not all
recognize that it has tangible costs.
Employee feedback that
¡ 48% intentionally decreased their work ef fort.
¡ 47% intentionally decreased the time spent at work.
¡ 38% intentionally decreased the quality of their work.
¡ 80% lost work time worr ying about the incident.
¡ 63% lost work time avoiding the of fender.
¡ 66% said that their per formance 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 

8. COSTS OF INCIVILITY (CONT’D) 
¡ Creativity suffers
§ Less Creative and have fewer new ideas if treat rudely
¡ Performance and team spirit deteriorate
§ negative consequences, less likely than others to help
¡ Customers turn away
§ Criticizing colleagues, disrespectful behavior
makes customer uncomfortable
§ Regardless of the circumstances, people don’t
like to see others treated badly,
¡ Managing incidents is expensive
§ one incident can soak up weeks of attention
and effort, waste of manpower

9. WHAT’S A LEADER TO DO 
MANAGING YOURSELF
Leaders set the tone, be aware of your actions
¡ Model good behavior
§ Role model, leader is rude
§ Create a culture of respect and express your appreciation.
¡ Ask for feedback
§ Leadership style
¡ Pay attention to your progress
§ Self awareness and set good example and alert people when rude.

10. WHAT’S A LEADER TO DO 
M A N A G I N G T H E O R G A N I Z Z AT I O N
¡ Hire for civility
§ Avoid bringing incivility into the workplace
§ However, Only 11% of organizations report considering civility at all
during the hiring process.
¡ Teach civility
§ People can learn civility on the job. Role-playing is one technique
§ Video can be a good teaching tool, especially when paired with
coaching.
§ Highlight the tone, volume and speed of the speech

11. WHAT’S A LEADER TO DO 
M A N A G I N G T H E O R G A N I Z Z AT I O N
¡ Create group norms
§ Work in the group to discuss what should and should not do
§ E.g. Hospital, smile, greet customer to gain customer satisfaction
¡ Reward good behavior & Penalize bad behavior
§ Motivate the staff with incentives, e.g. bonus and TPM
§ Warning, punishing action
¡ Conduct post-departure interviews
§ Interview with resigned staff to find out Root cause

12. GLOBAL APPROACH 
¡ Take civility global = learn how to read
behavior and to react respectfully across
cultures
¡ Before you go:
Ø Know who you are
Ø Know where you are going
Ø Be open-minded

13. GLOBAL APPROACH (CONT’D) 
¡ Once you’re there:
Ø Show respect
Ø Be agreeable
Ø Show patience with others and yourself
Ø Pay sharp attention
Ø Break out of your comfort zone
Ø Be adaptable
Ø Accept and learn from mistakes

14. A CULTURE OF CIVILITY
¡ Have a cooperative approach
¡ Be aware of underlying needs
¡ Recognize individual differences
¡ Be open to adapting to positions
¡ Start from leaders
¡ Clearly define expectations for how
employees treat each other
¡ Reward civilized behavior
¡ Encourage stress management

15. CONCLUSION 
¡ In order to minimize the workplace incivility, it requires the
efforts from both leaders and employees
¡ Organizations need to promote the cultures for civility
¡ Civility can be enhanced by building competencies in skills
such as listening, conflict resolution, negotiation, dealing
with difficult people, and stress management