A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that people working in the U.S. experience 202 million acts of incivility each day, with nearly 40% of the uncivil behavior happening at work.
Incivility in workplaces can impact employee morale and may be costing U.S. organizations roughly $2 billion per day in absenteeism and diminished productivity, the survey says.
“Fostering civility in the workplace is not just about politeness – it is a strategic business imperative. Companies that prioritize civility are more likely to attract and retain top talent, foster innovation, and achieve long-term success. In doing so, they protect their employees and their reputation for the customers, patients, or clients they serve,” said Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President and CEO of SHRM, in a U.S. News and World Report article.
Is respectful treatment the norm?
The SHRM Civility Index survey asked 1,611 U.S. workers across industries how often they experience or witness uncivil behavior in their daily lives and in the workplace.
Of the roughly 40% of respondents who reported witnessing or experiencing incivility at work, 44% said it involved their coworkers. In addition, only a third of workers believe that respectful treatment is the workplace norm.
Respondents also said that their workplaces are ill-equipped to handle incivility when it occurs.
Only 25% of U.S. workers believe their managers are effective at handling incivility. Thirty-seven percent said that managers and supervisors often fail to address acts or instances of incivility in the workplace and about a quarter said their managers and supervisors do not notice incivility at work at all.
Business consequences of incivility
The consequences of incivility affect workers personally and businesses overall.
Survey respondents who reported more incivility in their workplaces were more likely to say they will leave their job in the next 12 months, that they feel indifferent or do not care about doing a good job at work, and that their job often causes them to have physical reactions (e.g., headaches, fatigue).
Moreover, 66% of respondents said that incivility reduces productivity and 59% said it causes a decline in employee morale.
Incivility in the Illinois legal community
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has conducted periodic Surveys on Professionalism to measure incivility among Illinois attorneys. In 2021, the Commission’s third Survey on Professionalism evaluated the responses of a randomized sample of more than 1,500 Illinois attorneys across practice areas.
The survey found that the percentage of lawyers who said they have experienced incivility from another attorney in the past 6 months dropped more than 30% compared to the 2014 Survey on Professionalism. However, issues of incivility tied to race, age, and sex are on the rise and impacting diversity in the profession.
Similarly to the SHRM Civility Index, the 2021 Survey on Professionalism found that uncivil acts toward individual lawyers have larger consequences for lawyers, clients, and the general public. According to respondents, uncivil or unprofessional behavior:
- Makes it more difficult to resolve a matter (95%)
- Makes the practice of law less satisfying (92%)
- Harms public/client confidence in the profession (90%)
- Leads to an increase in litigation/transaction costs (88%)
The Commission recently received more than 6,000 responses from Illinois lawyers to an anonymous statewide survey to assess the prevalence and impact of bullying in the legal profession and recommend best practices for preventing it.
A report on the study — including the findings and recommendations based on the survey and focus groups — is expected to be released in 2024.
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