Post on 18-Jan-2016
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
What’s Happening in Today’s Workplace?
• Workplace civility – Behaviour “involving politeness and regard
for others in the workplace, within workplace norms for respect.”
• Workplace incivility– “Involves acting with disregard for others in
the workplace, in violation of workplace norms for respect
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Incidents of Negative Behaviour
• A survey with nurses in US /Canada found that 33 percent had experienced verbal abuse during the five previous days of work
• Another recent study found that 78 percent of employees interviewed think that workplace incivility has increased in the past 10 years
• Although men and women are targets of disrespect and rudeness in equal numbers . . . men instigate the rudeness 70 percent of the time
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Workplace Violence
• Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to [his or her] work by either customers, co-workers or managers – Include all forms of harassment, bullying,
intimidation, physical threats, assaults, robbery and other intrusive behaviour
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
What Causes Incivility?
• Excessive demands in workplace– Overtime– Downsizing– Rapid technological changes– Company restructuring– Difficulty balancing the demands of job and
home
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
What Causes Incivility?
• Breakdown in trust– Breakdown in psychological contract: the
expectations that employees and employers form about their relationship to each other
• Can lead to employees taking revenge– Don’t perform tasks– Refuse to pass on messages– Other behaviours that stop tasks from
getting done
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
The Toxic Handler
• The toxic handler helps others around him or her deal with the strains of the organization, by counselling, advising, shielding employees from the wrath of angry managers, reinterpreting the managers’ messages to make them less harsh, etc.
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Do You Have a Toxic Manager?
• Actor Behaviour
• Fragmentor Behaviour
• Me-First Behaviour
• Mixed-Messenger Behaviour
• Wooden-Stick Behaviour
• Escape-Artist Behaviour
• Macho Culture
• Specialist Culture
• Elitist Culture
• Office-Politics Culture
• Change-Resistant Culture
• Workaholic Culture
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
How Toxic Handlers Alleviate Organizational
Pain• They listen empathically
• They suggest solutions
• They work behind the scenes to prevent pain
• They carry the confidences of others
• They reframe difficult messages
OB on the Edge, Toxic Workplace, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education Canada Inc.
FaceOff
• Manners are an over-romanticized concept. The big issue isn’t that employees need to be concerned about their manners. Rather employers should be paying better wages.
• The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as others do unto you,” should still have a role in today’s workplace. Being nice pays off.