It's a Mad House
I don’t know about you, but I feel the world has become an angrier place in recent years.
Just recently the delightful team at my local café shared a disturbing story of an irate customer who lost the plot over a loaf of bread.
They were so rude and abusive, it reduced them to tears.
It immediately reminded me of my own kids’ experiences, working part-time on the frontline of retail, and what they had to endure. Rude, disrespectful, and insensitive behaviour on show daily.
They became easy targets and punching bags for people who were clearly angry, frustrated, and irrational.
The unfortunate thing is that this unsavoury behaviour is widespread. Think about police officers, airline staff, teachers, healthcare workers, or the thousands working in hospitality.
My own corporate experience has been littered with countless examples of incivility, none of which was particularly helpful in me performing to my best.
I’d say most of us want to come to work and be treated with kindness and respect.
So how did we get here?
Research out there gives us a good idea as to why.
Stress/burnout – disruption, world turmoil, uncertainty, lack of sleep and self-care.
Work cultures – breakdown in trust, not feeling valued, appreciated, or heard.
Technology – contributes to people being distracted and not ‘present’ for others.
Social media – negative online content makes us feel bad, inadequate, or anxious.
Awareness – incivility often arises from ignorance. Good intentions/poor delivery.
Attitudes are infectious. Is yours worth catching?
Rudeness, and its impact at home or work, can have a major influence on both your mental and physical health.
Reading a nasty comment on email or listening to a volatile argument between work colleagues can severely interfere with our thought patterns and negatively impact our work performance.
Workplace incivility is simply bad for business.
So how can we do better?
Articulate values and set culture expectations during the hiring process.
Reinforce values daily – everyone is responsible for creating a positive community.
Define what civility means to your organisation and hold the people accountable.
Teach employees to question their own ideas and act with emotional agility.
Coach to develop skills on how to listen and provide constructive feedback.
Recognise and reward positive behaviour to show civility matters.
Leaders need to set the tone and model the right behaviour.
When establishing Cultivate, one of my most important core values was ‘kindness’. Serving with empathy and treating people with fairness, civility, and compassion was fundamental.
Change the way you think, and it will change the way you behave.
Simply saying hello to someone you pass in the street or encouraging someone at work can make all the difference.
In the end your reputation is all you have. Treat people well and it will come back to help you. If you don’t, it will come back to hurt you.
If you're an organisation looking for a transformative C-Suite executive who leads with both head and heart or seeking to discover your 'unique purpose', then we need to talk.