A Current View of Civility in Society and the Workplace
Civility is an ever-evolving concept that changes as our society’s values and habits change. To ground us, we start with a general definition of civility and then look at data showing how perceived levels of civility in the workplace have been changing over time.
What is civility?
What is civility?
According to the Institute for Civility, civility is claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs, and beliefs without degrading someone else’s in the process. It is important to note that civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step.
Civility is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, understanding biases and personal preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same.
How has civility in our general society and in the workplace evolved? While civility is not a new topic, it is important to note that there has been an increasingly negative shift in overall levels of experienced civility both in society and in the workplace.
Over the past decade, tensions around the pandemic, politics, and unrest in many parts of the world have put the concept of civility in the spotlight. As early as 2013, studies from Weber Shandwick, a communications and public relations agency, warned that “civility in America continues to disintegrate and rude behavior is becoming the new normal.”
Moving forward to 2019, a new Weber Shandwick report found that 93% of Americans named incivility as a problem and 68% considered it a major problem. In 2020, the New York Times reported that in a survey of 1,000 American adults during the pandemic, 48% of adults and 55% of U.S. workers felt that, after the 2020 election, civility in America would improve. However, according to the Washington Post, as the year progressed the expectation of improvements with civility had fallen to 30% overall and 37% amongst U.S. workers.
The Civility Index
Where are we now in 2024? In 2024, SHRM released a first in what will be an ongoing measure of societal and workplace changes in civility: their Civility Index. The data below, taken from the Civility Index report, highlights the shift toward incivility in both our general society and in our workplaces.
The first chart shows the percentage of Americans who are currently experiencing perceived incivility in society and the predominant locations in which they are experiencing those uncivil interactions. Over half of U.S. workers (53%) who have experienced or seen incivility said it occurred in a store or while they were shopping, 45% said they experienced or saw incivility online or on social media, and 37% said they experienced or witnessed incivility at a restaurant or bar.
The second chart, also taken from the SHRM Civility Index data, shows the percentage of workers surveyed who believe they have experienced incivility in their workplace. Based on the data, nearly three-quarters of U.S. workers surveyed (74%) said they believe people in their workplace are generally civil today, a surprisingly positive number given all that we regularly hear about this topic.
It is important to note, however, that 26% of U.S. workers, almost a third of those surveyed, had experienced incivility in their workplace. The good news is that, while incivility is being experienced in the workplace, it is not the primary source of this experience for most. Even so, rising levels of incivility are being felt and have potential negative impacts on the workplace.
In summary, general incivility in society is carrying over to the workplace and is expected to continue increasing through the coming election and beyond. All of this points to workplace civility as a critical area for HR leaders and organizations to be aware of and actively work to protect and support in their individual cultures.
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Additional Resources:
Institute for Civility: Home – Institute for Civility
SHRM: Civility at Work – 2024 Civility Index Research (shrm.org)
Advancing Workplace Civility: a systematic review and meta-analysis of definitions
References:
Advancing Workplace Civility: a systematic review and meta-analysis of definitions, measurements, and associated factors: Frontiers | Advancing Workplace Civility: a systematic review and meta-analysis of definitions, measurements, and associated factors (frontiersin.org)
Berkeley Lab: IDEAs in Action – Workplace Civility (lbl.gov)
Gallup: Talking Politics at Work: A Double-Edged Sword (gallup.com)
Harvard Business School: Election 2024: What’s at Stake for Business and the Workplace? – HBS Working Knowledge
Harvard Business Review: Make Civility the Norm on Your Team (hbr.org)
LinkedIn: (6) Navigating the 2024 Political Season: Promoting Civility in the Workplace | LinkedIn
The New York Times: A Nation on Hold Wants to Speak With a Manager – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The Washington Post: Opinion | Americans’ behavior gets worse. No wonder our politics are lousy.
SHRM: When Politics Comes to Work: 4 Ways HR Executives Can Promote Civility Amid Division (shrm.org)
Your Thought Partner: Leader Strategies for Navigating a Politically Divided Workplace This Election Season (yourthoughtpartner.com)
