In the Zone
Is swearing acceptable in the workplace?
Für die einen gehört Fluchen in emotionalen Situationen dazu, für die anderen ist es beleidigend. Überall wird geflucht, privat und beruflich. Doch ist der Arbeitsplatz der geeignete Ort für Kraftausdrücke? Und wenn ja, wo, wie und wann dürfen sie verwendet werden? JULIAN EARWAKER berichtet.
You lose an important presentation file. You end a call after a long and completely unreasonable complaint. You catch your finger in the drawer. Every day at work, shit happens, as they say. And you use fitting language in response. Most people swear at some point — sometimes for emphasis, sometimes out of anger. Studies show that swearing can help us tolerate pain. Expletives are part of a rich vocabulary used to communicate not just facts, but emotions.
In 2006, research by Northern Illinois University showed an added dimension: swearing “had a significant effect” on the persuasiveness of arguments. Politicians and business leaders make themselves appear more believable when they swear, Pilita Clark writes on Ft.com. Perhaps that is why British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly exclaimed “fuck business” when faced with the concerns of industry about a no-deal Brexit. For influencers and business leaders, occasional swearing can serve to emphasize a point, demonstrate assertiveness and decisiveness, and show a “common touch”.
And studies reveal that, far from being thoughtless and stupid, swearing can reflect “verbal fluency” and social understanding. “It’s part of your emotional intelligence to know how and when to use these words,” Dr Timothy Jay of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts told Medicaldaily.com. “If you’re thinking about it from a moral perspective, you’re missing how common and normal it is. Everybody knows this language.”
Finding the right balance between credibility and offence can be difficult,
however. “Sometimes, a well-directed swear word can even create a positive response and let it be known to all that this is an important issue that requires a passionate response,” claims Monster.co.uk, an online job-search company. “However, frequency and overuse will reduce your status and diminish your power to command respect from others. People who continually swear look like they are out of control.”
In a survey, Careerbuilder.com found that 81 per cent of employers think swearing at work brings “an employee’s professionalism into question”. “You might think it’s casual and you are feeling comfortable, but you are still in the workplace and there is a certain level of professionalism that needs to be maintained,” Diane Gottsman, author of Modern Etiquette for a Better Life, told CNN Business. “You never know if you are within earshot of the boss or clients.”