It has become fashionable to be seen as no nonsense, tough talking person at the workplace. What is the effect of this tough talking on your team or colleagues? There is a fine line between being rude and being straight and as managers it is fundamental that we recognize this.
How proactive must the HR department be and what is at stake in terms of poor Organizational Behavior or Dysfunction. Unfortunately the issue of dysfunctional office behavior has thrown up a whole lot of other critical HR issues ranging from attrition to grievance redressal.
My boss calls and I’m in the middle of a meeting with a colleague, but I grab the phone and answer it, ready to run. It must be important – after all, it's the boss! Never mind that my colleague and the meeting are important too. The colleague can lump it. He does not do my appraisal.
We know that behaviors like this are rude. We wouldn't behave in this way outside of the office. So why do we then allow ourselves to behave dysfunctionally at work?
Is it the pressure of work or on occasions we believe that we can get away with poor behavior? There is a definite double standard when it comes to workplace manners. But you can't allow these behaviors to persist if you want to create and maintain a healthy work environment.
Not to be confused with bullies, rude and undermining colleagues are those who question others’ judgment, exclude others from situations, interrupt others when speaking, make derogatory comments, withhold information or belittle others’ ideas.
A few examples of poor office behavior in India are.
· Gossiping in the garb of 'networking' is the favorite pass time as nearly 60 per cent respondents love to indulge in it and do not consider it unethical. ( Bangalore-IT)
· Taking credit for subordinate's ideas is not unethical, says Bangalore and Ahmedabad, while rest of the cities beg to differ with an average score of 42 per cent.
· Interestingly, one in every four respondents in Chennai has experienced mobile/wallet thefts at the workplace!
· An astonishing 74% of those surveyed in Ahmedabad do not think that falsifying time (of arrival at or departure from work) in the attendance register is unethical.
While the above may border on the unethical there is no shortage of disrespectful and uncouth behavior which makes members of your team unhappy, and damages the cohesion of your team. It is a de motivator and will eventually destroy team cohesion. Research found that victims of bad manners or incivility are less engaged at work, less committed to their organization, not as prepared to go the extra mile and more likely to resign,” said Barbara Griffin, an organizational psychologist with the University of Western Sydney. The sample of 54,000 employees from 179 organizations across Australia and New Zealand, reported a higher frequency of bad behavior from their co-workers, but when their manager or a senior leader was the instigator the negative effect on engagement was even stronger.
As a Manager or the HR team to make sure your workplace is free of dysfunctional behavior requires a two-pronged strategy:
Reward good manners.
Drive out poor manners.
Reward Good Manners
Most of the time when bad manners surface at work it is unintentional. It's easy to get caught up in your own tasks and projects. People's focus gets so narrow that they forget to consider the impact that their words or actions will have on other people.
In an attempt to be efficient and productive we take a few liberties with our manners at work. Perhaps, at one time, we apologetically said, "I'm sorry, we are running out of time and move onto the next point." But now we blurt out, "Next!" or "Let's get on with it, folk!" or even worse ‘Cut the crap’.
While the intention may be the same, the degree of bluntness, or even rudeness, used nowadays is unacceptable – at work or anywhere.
If good people are bruised by someone else's rudeness once too often, you risk losing them. How long is it going to take to find an equally good replacement, and bring them "up to speed"? How much is this going to cost? And what opportunities will you have lost in the meantime?
When disrespectful conduct starts surfacing throughout a company, or when it's used by executives or other key people, it can become part of the organization's culture. Poor manners can be quickly absorbed into cultural norms, especially when no one stands up and demands courteous and polite behavior. The HR team must be alert to the situation and act before poor behavior turns endemic.
So what can you do if rudeness is already deep rooted within the culture of your organization?
In conjunction with your colleagues, focus on the problem behaviors and create a list of the behaviors that are expected within your team. Be specific so that people really understand what constitutes good manners. Depending on where the problems lie, you may want to include these items:
Email and Internet expectations.
Where people eat.
What people wear?
Meeting routines and etiquette.
Working in close proximity.
Communication style – tone, manner, language.
Use of supplies and equipment.
Telephone manners.
Request key executives to demonstrate all the appropriate behaviors in your own actions. Acting as a role model is one of the most effective means of reinforcing what is acceptable and expected.
Until things improve, consider adding this as an agenda for your regular team meeting to emphasize and entrench the importance of change.
Reward people for demonstrating polite behavior. Make a point of thanking people for turning off their cell phones before entering a meeting.
Until things improve, consider adding a manners category to your performance review process.
Driving Out Bad Manners
Encouraging good manners is one side of the coin. On the flip side, it requires developing mechanisms and strategies to eliminate poor manners from your workplace. When workplace manners begin to slip, it can be hard to stop the slide and regain control.
Open communication and empathy are perhaps your strongest weapons for controlling discourtesy in the office. When people stop talking or sharing their experiences and concerns, or when they stop considering how their actions make others feel, poor behavior can start to work its way into the fabric of the organization's culture.
You start noticing that your pen or writing pad are missing from your desk. You don't say anything because it's not a big deal. You don't want people to think you're cheap or a complainer so you keep quiet.
First, you have to have a workplace where there is open and honest communication. When you do, your co-workers feel comfortable voicing their concerns and there are mechanisms in place for resolving conflicts.
Along with these, people must also believe that something will done to address their concerns and grievances. They have to see that their issues are taken care of and that management is just as concerned about poor behavior as they are.
On the flip side, people must take responsibility for their actions. They must think about the impact of what they say or do has on other people and the workplace in general. Whenever you have people working together, there has to be a high level of respect and concern for others.
Some tips for creating this type of workplace include:
Developing a staff feedback system.
Clearly defining what is not acceptable in terms of appropriate workplace behavior. This should refer to the "good manners" document you create as part of the process of encouraging good manners.
Applying a fair and consistent discipline procedure.
Creating a conflict resolution process that begins with people speaking directly to one another, but where they then get progressively more outside support and assistance if a solution can't be worked out.
Depending on national culture, consider encouraging people to use the words "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" – and mean it.
Encouraging people to ask themselves, "How would the other person like to be treated in this situation?" Perhaps even put these words and phrases in prominent areas of the office as reminders to be polite and courteous.
Tips for dealing with bad mannered co-workers:1. Do not reciprocate the behavior. Reacting with similar actions can quickly spiral into increasingly aggressive behaviors.2. If circumstances permit, set up a discussion with the person and tell them that you find their behavior offensive.3. Understand your organization’s policies and procedures. If the situation worsens, you can then report the offensive behavior in an official manner.4. If you are stressed and upset by the behaviors, talk to a psychologist or make use of confidential employee assistance programs.
As HR managers we must quickly rise to the occasion, to stamp this rather insidious lack of discipline which can destroy a great organization.
Sources”
1. The study titled Nothing Ethical about Ethics encapsulates views of the corporate workforce on workplace ethics across eight cities in India — New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune.The study commissioned by TeamLease Services and conducted by global research company Synovate in May and June, covered top 500 companies and had a sample size of 401.
2. University of Western Sydney website.
3. HBR- Feb 2004. Breakthrough Ideas for 2004: The HBR List
4. The No Asshole Rule—Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.- Robert I. Sutton
5. Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance? –Knowledge@Wharton, 2007
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