What It Takes to Fix a “Mean” Workplace

Workplace incivility costs U.S. businesses an estimated $2 billion each day in lost productivity. Uncivil behavior can spread to bystanders like a virus, creating a workplace contagion that decimates productivity and well-being. But new preliminary research suggests civility is just as contagious. Anyone can break the cycle of incivility through three steps: 1) Noticing your automatic response; 2) Naming your automatic response; and 3) Communicating in a way that doesn’t trigger the other person.