Author: Dennis E. Gilbert
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Rudeness, we might label it as disrespect, blame it on generational differences, or reference it as extremely poor customer service. Have you thought about rudeness in your workplace? Have you thought about what rudeness costs?
There seems to be a growing trend with rude behaviors. Some might argue that this trend exists mostly because bad behaviors are widely accepted, or at least that they are often widely ignored.
Across the years there has been a lot of blame thrown at bad bosses. Certainly if workplace leaders exhibit rude behavior it can negatively impact employees. Christine Porath pointed out some of these in her 2015 article, “No Time to Be Nice at Work.”
Are there additional impacts associated with workplace rudeness?
Learned Behaviors
Rudeness is a learned behavior. We might consider our social interactions, things we witness in public places, and of course the cultural behaviors of our workplace.
We see it on television shows that resemble cartoons, reality TV programming, and many of the modern day news channels. The same is true for social media where rudeness might sell with likes and clicks, thumbs up, or by going viral.
Rudeness seems to sell, and often sell big.
Rudeness Costs
Does it eventually cost your business or organization? Yes, some of the costs are buried in employee turnover, loss of customers, and an unfavorable reputation.
There might be other costs too. In one recent example, a major news network encountered at least several harassment suits from employees, former employees, or contributors. True or not true, settled in or out of court, there is a price to be paid.
In any business, the behaviors associated with the work environment or customer experience has a price.
For most organizations it starts with the culture. How an organization communicates, interacts with customers, and treats its employees will have a lot to do with the behaviors that are replicated.
These costs can be minimized with employee training programs that target improving workplace civility, building a customer service culture, and developing better leaders.
Affording the Price
There is always a price to be paid. You can utilize prevention and maintenance that keeps your culture in check, or hope that things will never breakdown.
If you believe rudeness costs, prevention and maintenance seem like the logical choice.
If you don’t believe it, you might want to consider what happened with United Airlines or Allen Kovac before you make your final decision on your budget.
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Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
