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Incivility leads to many harmful effects on employees and on the organization. Coworker incivility has been linked to higher levels of employee burnout, to lots of strain and stress. For the organization or the company, incivility has been related to decreased satisfaction and eventually decreased performance.
And here’s the thing about incivility: It is contagious! An employee who is subjected to lack of civility, lack of good manners, lack of anyone seeming to care about them, often retaliates with uncivil acts and ways of their own. So, it can spiral out of control within an organization rather quickly. But the good news is that courtesy and good manners can be contagious, too.
Remember that Jesus has called us as his followers to be lights in a dark world, and that means not only that we are not caught up in this workplace incivility, but we are actively and intentionally trying to change that culture. But how?
Well, as I’ve often said, everything starts at the top, so if you are in a management job, or you’re in a place of influence, you should model what civil and courteous behavior looks like. Your level of courtesy and consideration toward others will trickle down to those who work for you and with you. As a manager, you are always “on,” which means you don’t have the luxury of letting your guard down, because your behavior has more impact than others. By setting the tone for the organization, managers and those in places of influence can help create a culture of simple courtesy, good manners, and caring about others.
As Christ followers, here is our standard, from Philippians 2:3-4:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
That is very civil behavior, and with the power of God’s Spirit, you can be that person who values others above yourself.