The Spoon

I bet you would all agree with me that loud, rude, and/or negative people in the workplace are not the reason you show up everyday. Most of you would probably agree the rude and mouthy people can be really damaging to your outlook and mood. For instance, how do you feel after hearing someone fly off the handle, yell, and curse over something as small as a rescheduled meeting or unexpected phone call from a sales person?

For the grand majority of us, the instinct to take flight (aka: lay low) takes over. And even if the outburst wasn't aimed at you, guess what happens: your focus, engagement, productivity and creativity are out the window.

This article highlights some research that confirms our intuition about these folks in the workplace. The study shows that rude behavior has an effect on productivity and creativity. And I guess if we're noticing a decline in productivity, creativity, engagement, innovation, etc... we could safely assume it's having an impact on the bottom line, as well.

“We found that even when the rude behavior is pretty mild, it impairs a person’s cognitive functioning and has spillover effects in how they treat their co-workers,” said Amir Erez, a University of Florida management professor.

The unusual study, by Erez and Christine Porath, a management professor at the University of Southern California, appears in the October issue of the Academy of Management Journal.

This well-crafted research shows that when organizations allow rude employees to run roughshod over others, it not only creates uncivilized workplaces, it is just plain bad business.

Take note, and don't let your temper tantrum run roughshod over your employees.