Are you accustomed to tantrums, do you sometimes lose your temper or indulge, from time to time, in harsh language in the office? A recent study says that these behaviors, if kept occasional, can be good and make you a better employee!
Have you been rude or impolite at work? It can make you a better employee!
This is what a study published in Journal of Business Ethics. Its authors looked at the repercussions of incivility at work. If the management literature has repeatedly shown that incivility spreads rapidly in companies, few studies have focused on how a lack of courtesy affects the people who fall victim to it and those who perpetuate it.
American researchers asked employees to recall times when they were rude to a colleague. They found that employees who lose their temper in the office tend to feel guilty quickly. They often talk about their misbehavior to their partner once they return home. There is nothing surprising in itself: it is not uncommon for couples to tell each other about their work days over a drink or a good dinner.
Fear of bad reputation makes you more effective and likable
But what’s even more surprising is that these conversations influence their behavior. In fact, employees who showed rudeness in the office the day before tend to be particularly nice the next day. “Because you feel guilty, you work harder the next day at work, and are more careful not to be rude again,” explains study co-author Claudiana Lanage. statement.
This shows that employees care about their professional reputation more than we think. They don’t want their mistakes to follow them and their colleagues – especially their bosses – to see them as the “corporate scoundrel.” “When you’re rude, you’re also hurting yourself. Guilt is a complex phenomenon. It’s exhausting, but it can also help us pull ourselves back together by fighting rudeness and get us more involved at work,” asserts Daniel Kim, also a co-author of the study.
So a bad mood at work can be good. But it is worth remembering that we must try as much as possible to show tact and respect in the professional field. It is fun to have cordial relationships with your colleagues rather than being afraid that someone will vent their frustration in the middle Open space. We want to work more in a light atmosphere, where good manners are valued, than in an atmosphere climateclimate tense.