Workplace rudeness can affect a business’ success

Nearly everyone has a story about someone at work who has been rude.

Perhaps it was the boss who sent a snippy e-mail or the coworker who made snarky comments, but workplace civility often seems to have gone the way of the typewriter.

The deeper issue with workplace rudeness is how it affects the bottom-line

success of a business. A 2011 study found that workplace rudeness caused 48 percent of workers to slack off deliberately and even affected their interactions with customers.

It also caused internal strife as workers reported spending time worrying about a rude interaction or lost work time trying to figure out how to avoid an uncivil co-worker.

Ron Ashkenas, a senior partner at Schaffer Consulting, says reliance on technology has spurred more workplace complaints of incivility.

“It’s difficult to pick up social cues when you’re always communicating virtually and aren’t seeing someone face to face,” Ashkenas says.

“Without picking up on cues, you may just plow on without realizing how someone else is reacting.”

Young workers often are cited as sending texts instead of communicating in person or via phone, which some older colleagues find rude. But Ashkenas says no one age group holds the record for uncivil behavior, and all employees can improve their interactions.

Young workers can help improve perceptions by putting down their smartphones in meetings and focusing on what their teammates are saying, says Dan Schawbel, author of “Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success.”

He also suggests that young workers push themselves to get away from their cubicles and e-mail. Instead, they should meet with the boss or co-workers in person.

“If you rely too much on technology for communicating, it will be hard to build strong interpersonal relationships,” Schawbel says.

Often just becoming more aware of how your actions affect others can go a long way toward alleviating workplace rudeness.