Yaneek Page | Incivility might be stealing your profit

Is incivility stealing productivity and profits from your business? Recently there has been a surge in research and evidence around the world that it is, and people managers and leaders must pay attention, and act.

Cyberbullying, rudeness, aggression, refusing to compromise, decreased empathy, verbal abuse and intimidation, which unfortunately are becoming conventional, are all examples of incivility.

Think tanks and research centres, academic journals, government agencies and professional organisations are consistent in categorising incivility as a cancer that erodes the foundation of human connection.

We have a serious dilemma. Adding a generous dose of complexity to this latest predicament is that small businesses usually don’t have trained people managers, human resources departments or HR professionals. HR best practices are also not typically prioritised. Yet, these are the businesses that can least afford unnecessary losses and reduced productivity.

Counting the cost

Quantifying the precise financial impact of workplace incivility for a small business can be complex and difficult, particularly if there is no baseline data available or ongoing measuring and evaluation. Research in areas such as healthcare, education, and online incivility has found the impact to be negative and enduring.

At the business level, there are direct and indirect costs. Both affect operations, customer service, and the bottom line.

Direct costs would include: increased and high turnover rate due to a toxic work environment will lead to significant productivity losses, and increased recruitment and training; absenteeism/presentism in that incivility contributes to increased sick days and decreased productivity among those who are physically present at work but disengaged; and increased legal and financial risk from employment related disputes.

Indirect costs include decreased morale, reduced job satisfaction, poor customer service, reputational damage, and so on.

It is therefore understandable that worsening incivility appears to be the next frontier to be conquered in the universe of workplace concerns, and the alarm has been sounded by the Society for Human Resource Management, SHRM, one of the most reputable HR sources.

For those who are unfamiliar with the human resources discipline, SHRM is like the Olympic association for human resources professionals. It’s the leading and largest global membership organisation for HR practitioners, backed by 340,000 members from 180 countries.

According to SHRM, workplace incivility is at crisis level, requiring urgent action to cool tempers at work and foster civil and open dialogue and engagement. This year, SHRM launched a civility index, a strategic move that recognises the severity of the problem.

Developing and maintaining an index to measure workplace civility is resource intensive and requires significant financial investment. An organisation would not commit to such an endeavour unless it recognised the severe and crippling impact the problem has on employee well-being, productivity and overall organisational health.

How to take action

The first step is defining incivility and determining that it is a problem. The next step is assessing the current and future potential impact on the business. The bigger the problem and impact, the more urgent the solutions required.

If your business decides to address incivility it will need to create anti-incivility policies, demonstrate leadership commitment and ensure that managers lead by example. Hissing teeth, cut eye, confrontation, name-calling, mocking others, refusing to entertain different points of view, are examples of incivility.

A colleague recently shared one of the SHRM posters, and several other free resources available on the website. I encourage readers, particularly small business owners, to visit the SHRM website and take a look. The posters give specific examples of actions that are uncivil in nature.

Interestingly, some of these are now normalised as acceptable behaviour in a professional setting:

– Addressing others disrespectfully;

– Interrupting or silencing others while they are speaking;

– Excessive monitoring or micromanaging of employees;

– Ignoring others or paying little attention to others; and

– Unprofessional or disrespectful body language

It is instructive that SHRM described ‘micro-management’ as incivility, putting leaders on notice that they need self-reflection and, potentially, to change the way they lead and manage.

Continuous training and education are required for all workers, and leaders. Other recommendations from think tanks and experts include recognising and rewarding good examples of civility either with a formal programme, performance appraisals or basic incentives.

Jamaican context

For businesses that are unable to prioritise this issue, it is possible to move the needle against the hostility by simply starting conversations about the importance of civility, and modelling the behaviour among leadership, that can set a more positive workplace ethos.

In moving forward, it is important to consider that Jamaica’s context. We continue to face significant challenges with high rates of violence, and anti-social behaviour.

Incivility commonly manifests itself in extreme aggression and difficulties in resolving minor conflicts at every level of society. Therefore, if small businesses, which are responsible for most of the employment in the country, are able to effect even moderate change in fostering a culture of respect, empathy and constructive conflict resolution, this may go a far way in helping to create a more harmonious and cohesive society.

One love!

Yaneek Page is the programme lead for Market Entry USA, and a certified trainer in entrepreneurship.yaneek.page@gmail.com