Incivility
in the workplace is nothing new, but recent events make it more important
than ever for employers to assess their company culture. We live in a
challenging time when civil unrest is coupled with the unfortunte political
divisions that the pandemic created. Civility in America is diminishing.
In recent years the EEOC updated its recommendations to add civility and bystander intervention training to employers’ anti-harassment training programs. Undeniably, training is desperately needed, but tossing a single training program at this topic is ineffective at best and runs the risk of being counterproductive.
Both civility and incivility sprout from the customs and habits of a group of people. Culture determines the level of respect. If business leaders identify the need for training on workplace civility, they are also (whether they realize it or not) determining that the company needs a culture change.
Business leaders must understand that achieving culture change is an ongoing, complex process. It requires buy-in and support from the top levels of management coupled with a commitment to compassionate accountability for all staff. If everyone isn’t held accountable, no one will buy into the new cultural norms. It requires an honest commitment from leadership, and if business leaders aren’t sincere in their resolve to create a respectful workplace, employees will easily spot this insincerity. The only thing worse than having a disrespectful culture is having a culture where staff are expected to behave respectfully while leadership practices incivility.
Business leaders are well advised to do some soul-searching before launching a training program on workplace civility. Explore:
- How does your current culture contribute to incivility?
- What is the impact of that incivility?
- What would a civil workplace look like at your organization?
- What impact would civility produce?
- Are you willing to hold yourselves accountable for the same behaviors that you wish to see in your staff?
- Are you ready to provide good examples of respectful behavior every day?
- Are you willing to visibly participate in training and development programs so that staff can see your commitment?
If your leadership team is ready to make the commitment to building a respectful workplace, keep in mind:
- This type of initiative must be ongoing. One or two training programs will not change your culture. Change requires time, patience, reinforcement, and tenacity.
- Prepare for ups and downs. The excitement for change gives way to the realization that people are being held accountable, and those who resist accountability for their own actions will attempt to sabotage the initiative. This is often the darkest hour before the dawn, and you could experience multiple dark/dawn episodes as you progress. Your commitment must be reinforced when this happens.
- As a leader, there might be times when you feel like you are carrying the initiative on your shoulders as you trudge through waist-deep mud. Keep trudging.
- At all times, employees will be watching their leaders. If leaders demonstrate disrespectful behavior, employees will receive that as a directive to follow suit.
- As in all change initiatives, staff input is crucial at every step in the journey. You will not change culture without staff buy-in, and you will not get staff buy-in if you do not involve them in the excitement of building the culture. They need to be heard.
The encouraging news is that workplace civility initiatives can work! They can decrease conflict, reduce stress, lower turnover, increase productivity, and reduce the liability that comes with incivility. Above all, they can provide a healthy environment in which all employees can grow and enjoy a sense of safety and belonging.