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December 02, 2009
50 in 50. #17: The Cost of Bad Behavior
If you’re looking for a fun, upbeat read, I would not recommend The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It by Christine Pearson and Christine Porath.
However, if you’re looking for a thoughtful, well-researched examination of bad behavior in the workplace, as well as practical advice about how to address the problem of incivility, this book does the job. (My only caveat: The Cost of Bad Behavior devotes twice as many pages in documenting the problem as it does in offering solutions.)
The book begins with sobering statistics: 96 percent of American employees have experienced incivility at work. 80 percent believe they get no respect while on the job. Three out of four employees were dissatisfied with the way their companies handle incivility. And 12 percent left their jobs became they were treated uncivilly.
What is workplace incivility? The authors provide many examples, including: Taking credit for others’ efforts. Talking down to others. Belittling others’ efforts. Leaving a mess for others to clean up. And throwing temper tantrums.
The Cost of Bad Behavior thoroughly explores root causes. According to Ms. Pearson and Ms. Porath, today’s incivility “derives from certain social and economic developments that have fundamentally changed the nature of work. In a lean, mean global business environments, office life for most of us is more stressful. With productivity pressures mounting, our office relationships may grow weaker and less meaningful.”
So what can be done about workplace bad behavior? The book describes examples of companies that have addressed the problem head-on and also provides 10 steps organizations should take. For example, although many companies conduct exit interviews when an employee leaves the company, the authors advise supplementing these with post-departure interviews, conducted six months afterwards. Because some time has passed, the ex-employee is more likely to give candid feedback about his reasons for leaving, which may include bad behavior by a boss or co-worker. The key is to use this feedback to take action.
This is a sobering book, but well worth reading.
Posted by Alison Davis at December 2, 2009 06:53 AM
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