And I thought it was just me. In my aging process I thought I was just becoming more irritated with how I was being treated. In public, at work, even in church. Well, it isn’t just me, it is all of us saying the world is not as nice as it once was, or at least America. Studies, reports and surveys say incivility is on the rise. Several studies and reports have recently been released citing this negative phenomenon and the Civility in America 2011 Nationwide Survey shows that there has been a 406% increase in incivility in just one year. This is not a trend we should be proud of.
What is incivility? These reports sited:
- losing one’s temper or yelling at someone in public
- rude or obnoxious behavior
- badgering or back-stabbing
- withholding important information
- sabotaging a project or damaging someone’s reputation
- Taken someone else’s food, beverage, or condiments from the shared refrigerator without permission?
- not following common courtesy on the road- failing to use turn signals, cutting people off, holding traffic up because you need to make a last minute turn or lane change, cutting into lines.
- Not saying thank you, excuse me, pardon me when someone is courteous (holding a door open, etc) or when you bump into someone.
- Not being aware of your surroundings (stopping to look around at the top of an escalator)
- I can go on and on.............unfortunately.
- arriving late to a meeting
- checking e-mail or texting during a dinner, a meeting, or generally taking attention away from someone else
- not answering calls or responding to emails in a timely manner
- ignoring or interrupting
- not saying “please” or “thank you”
- Purposely not greeting or acknowledging someone
- Starting a conversation or email message without first including a salutation? Instead of a courteous, ‘ Good Morning, how are you today?.... That’s good. How is ____. Good to hear. Hey, would you mind moving your car a bit as I can’t get out of the driveway” what you get is a “your car is blocking mine in”
- Taking the last cup of coffee, last_____ without making more
- Not giving credit to someone else for their contribution
- I can go on and on................unfortunately.
Statistics:
- 96 percent have experienced incivility at work
- 48 percent of employees claim they were treated uncivilly at work at least once a week
- 10 percent said they witnessed civility every day
- 94 percent of workers who are treated uncivilly say they get even with their offenders
What can we do about it?
I for one am not going to stand for it. It really does take a village to raise a child and if we are going to act like children then let’s all act to raise that bar. I will make a more concentrated effort to act in kindness at every opportunity and to point out to others, in a kind way, when I believe they have acted inappropriately with me . Why? My goal is not to act as corrector or teacher but maybe to share when actions have not been appropriate especially when that has not been their intent. Awareness is the first step. In Maya Angelou’s words “when you know better then you can do better” Oh, and there is that other one...........Karma is a bitch.
Additional reading and information taken from:
Additional reading and information taken from:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011/08/Incivility-a-growing-problem-at-work-psychologists-say/49854130/1
Another great write up! And very timely. Makes me sad that courteousness has gone by the wayside. And Pay It Forward! Well, one step at a time, one person at a time setting the better example. There's hope for us yet, right?
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