Workplace rudeness, is there anything worse?

Whether rude behavior comes from your peers, supervisors, people who work for you or visitors, nothing ruins your day faster. The problem is that workplace rudeness does more than annoy or cause hurt feelings, it also can lead to lost productivity in the office.

Rudeness comes in all forms, blatant rudeness when someone speaks to you in an obvious demeaning tone, subtle rudeness when there is an accusation about your lack of knowledge, etc.

Don’t be the office rudeness queen or king and don’t become a rudeness victim.

1. Have you ever or at least been tempted to take the day off because the day before was filled with rudeness? You just don't feel up to another day of the same. Many workers simply call in sick and take a rest and relaxation day so they can be ready for the next likely encounter with the same rude person.
   
   
2. Workplace rudeness can cause some workers to decrease their on the job efforts, especially if the efforts appear to be the cause of caustic remarks or barbs. Even when seemingly said in jest--these barbs hit their mark each and every time.
   
   
3. Well-honed remarks about the amount of time a person spends in the office may cause that person to decrease those few extra minutes that mean so much to the boss.
   
   
4. Rudeness often takes place in meetings; challenging credibility in front of others is one way it is done. When a workers comments are constantly challenged, her or his interaction may stop altogether. Valuable participation and input is lost.
   
   
5. Name-calling is rude and harmful to a person's self-esteem and can be demoralizing. You and your peers may think it is funny or cute to call someone who appears to be consumed with neatness and order, Ms. or Mr. Prissy, but this kind of thing can quickly take an ugly turn.

Question: How do you know when you have reached your ‘rudeness’ limit? Answer: When you spend more time disgruntled or worrying about the rude person and less time concentrating on your work.

Managers should be aware that workplace rudeness left unchecked can lead to reduced commitment to the organization or a person actually leaving the organization to avoid all contact with the offensive person.

Workplace rudeness is sometimes unintentional. You won’t know if it is or not unless you speak up. The best way to counter-attack rudeness to say something immediately. However, not in an adversarial manner, just let the attacker know that what she said or intimated is unacceptable. If rudeness comes from a boss, speak to her alone or ask for a meeting to declare the same.

Two of the things we were taught in kindergarten were to be courteous to others and that you have to be kind to receive kindness; they are still good rules of thumb.