Incivility in the workplace can take many forms, from verbal abuse and harassment, to manipulation to acts of violence. 1.4 million employees experience it each year.
It has tremendous costs, as well. According to Dr. Rajashi Ghosh, an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Development for the School of Education at Drexel University, incivility costs the U.S. economy $23.8 billion each year. And academic environments are not immune.
On this week’s podcast, I will air an interview with Dr. Ghosh , who was the author of a recent article on the “incivility spiral” in mentoring relationships, which was published in a special issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources, which she also co-edited. In this article, Ghosh examined how different acts of incivility between mentors and mentees can devolve into negative relationships.
With mentoring programs being one of the popular ways that we seek to develop up-and-coming professionals, Ghosh recommends that institutions (and their Human Resource Officers) provide structured approaches, including codes of conduct for mentors and mentees, better orientations for both sides of the relationship about roles, boundaries, and conduct, formal processes for reporting inappropriate behavior, and better follow-up from HR and management.
Drexel will host a Human Resource Development Symposium September 17, “HRD’s Role in Addressing Workplace Incivility and Violence. Online registration is now closed, but if you are interested in attending e-mail Dr. Ghosh at rg429@drexel.edu expressing your interest in being on the waitlist.
We’ll also talk about my upcoming webinar on Creating a Killer Résumé on BigMarker, a new free webinar service, Hiring for Hope events, and I’ll take your comments and questions on dealing with incivility in the workplace.
When people around you at work are being negative, it’s tempting to join in, but the result could be a toxic work environment thats difficult to climb out of. What can you do to keep from being dragged down into that dark place? And what should you do to remove negativity from your life and the workplace?
We’ve probably all had those moments when co-workers gripe and moan about things they don’t like in their work environments, but there’s something different and kind of insidious about work environments where negativity is tolerated. They can eat at you, and leave you with some undesirable options: join in and get dragged down, or avoid joining in and possibly become marginalized.
Friday at 11 am ET, I will be talking with Sally Marks, author of Erase Negativityand Embrace the Magic Within, about ways that people can avoid negativity and toxic communication at work. Please join me and call in with your questions and comments about dealing with toxic work environments and overcoming negativity. The Guest Call-in number is (347) 989-0055, and Skype users can also call in via the Skype “S” Click-to-Talk Button from the Episode page, once the show is live.
How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career
Have you ever thought to yourself “Success is too hard!”?
Jason Seiden has the answer for all those beleaguered by their search for success: Stop trying. Fail instead.
How to Self Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career outlines 14 ways to destroy your career, whether you are in your first job or “retiring in place” in senior management. Divided into four sections: Taking Down Your Career, Kicking Your Career When It’s Down, Laying Waste to Your Personal Environment, and Mastering the Self-Destruction Process, the book offers many pearls of wisdom for those who’ve finally had it with being successful and are ready to just give up. Some that I found particularly good:
Take advantage of casual Fridays….”The unpressed, only-worn-once-since-you-washed-it-last Banana Republic uniform is still the most subtle yet effective way to keep yourself off everyone’s ‘next in line for the presidency’ radars.”
Develop Champagne Tastes and an entitlement complex….“This will maximize the number of things you want but cannot afford and will heighten the feelings of inadequacy you experience when you repeatedly don’t get them.”
Stay humble…. “At worst, you’ll get a personal note from the CEO admiring your work ethic, reminding you of the fond days when he worked under you and wishing you well now that your red Swingline has been confiscated and you’ve been laid off.”
To balance things out, Seiden ends each chapter with advice for those who don’t have the courage to fail. Some sage advice I could relate to:
Be prepared to meet with a client or with your CEO at any moment. …“if you want the interaction to go well, appearances matter.”
Embrace your inner grunt….“Escort your ego to the curb and give it a good kick in the ass so it doesn’t come back. Return to the office and relish your role as low man on the totem pole. How low? Let’s put it this way: all the people you work with were told they were special too. So, chance are, you are of average specialness, which means you’re not special at all.”
Work hard? Yes, and have fun, too. If you’re not having fun, you’re not engaging others. If you’re not engaging others, you’re not building the network you’ll need to achieve your big dreams. If you’re not having fun, you’re wasting your potential and slowly turning into a pessimist who will try to convince others to abandon thier dreams the same as you abandoned yours.”
With a unique mix of humor and wisdom, Jason Seiden has created an engaging and thought-provoking guidebook for failing (or succeeding) in today’s workplace. The cover price for this book is $12.95 and you can learn more about Seiden at www.howtoselfdestruct.com and at his blog, www.seidenleadership.com.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
