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.