3. Why Civility in the Workplace is Vital to Employee Performance

Sophia, a recent graduate from BYU Marriott, has already seen incivility in the workplace and understands the importance of civility within an organization. “The core of civility is relationships. If you don’t have civility, you damage relationships,” she says.

During her first few months in the workforce, Sophia experienced incivility firsthand from one of the directors in her company. “When I was first hired, I had to work with this director on two projects,” says Sophia. “He was condescending and whenever I reached out to him, he would automatically criticize me. There wasn’t any kindness in his approach.”

Because of the incivility Sophia felt from her director, she stopped asking for help and fell behind on her deliverables, costing the company time and money. Sophia's story isn’t unique. In a Harvard Business Review poll, 98% of individuals reported experiencing uncivil behavior in the workplace with half saying they were treated rudely at least once a week.

Incivility in the workplace is on the rise and will continue to persist unless those approaching and currently in the job force understand the need for civility. Tyler, a senior in the BYU Marriott accounting program, is starting to see that need already. “Incivility directly relates to your motivation at work,” he says. “Your work ethic, drive and performance level decrease when someone is rude to you. If you feel mistreated, your desire to go above and beyond drastically diminishes.”

The Harvard Business Review found that among workers who have felt incivility at work:

• 48% intentionally decreased their work effort.

• 47% intentionally decreased the time spent at work.

• 38% intentionally decreased the quality of their work.

• 80% lost work time worrying about uncivil incidents.

The price of incivility is never worth the cost. Incivility always has negative impacts on employees and organizations. When there is civil behavior in the workforce, performance increases, creativity thrives and company culture flourishes.