Briefing

“Incivility spirals” caused by rudeness, disrespect, and insensitivity can cause a direct reduction in the effectiveness of an organisation, according to research reported in Employment Trends (1999;689:2). Most instigators are male, and most hand it out to colleagues of lower status. In a large American workplace survey, half of the uncivilly treated employees had contemplated leaving their jobs and 12%had actually done so.