- Mar 1, 2000
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Allowing staff to swear at work can benefit them and their employers, according to researchers at a British university.
Yehuda Baruch, professor of management at the the University of East Anglia's Norwich Business School, and graduate Stuart Jenkins looked at the use of expletives and swearing in the workplace from a management point of view.
They identified the relevance and even importance of using non-conventional and sometimes uncivil language at work and how it may have a positive impact.
The study found regular use of profanity to express and reinforce solidarity among staff can enable them to express their feelings and develop social relationships.
Baruch said their aim was to challenge leadership styles and suggest ideas for best practice.
"Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner," Baruch said. "Swearing was as a social phenomenon to reflect solidarity and enhance group cohesiveness, or as a psychological phenomenon to release stress."
"Most of the cases were reported by employees at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchies and it was clear that executives use swearing language less frequently," he said. "The primary issue for management is whether or not to apply a tolerant leadership culture to the workplace and deliberately allow swearing."
The study found younger managers and professionals were more tolerant in what they accepted as ethical behavior, suggesting that age may be a moderator for the spreading of swearing language to the workplace. Women also swore more than might traditionally be expected, especially among themselves.
The study also found that swearing did not take place in front of or within close proximity to customers, but once they had gone or in staff areas.
The research suggests that while a ban on swear words and reprimanding staff might represent strong leadership, it would remove the source of solidarity and in doing so could lead to decreased morale and work motivation.
"We hope that this study will serve not only to acknowledge the part that swearing plays in our work and our lives, but also to indicate that leaders sometimes need to ?think differently?, and be open to intriguing ideas." Baruch said.
The results of the study, "Swearing At Work And Permissive Leadership Culture: When Anti-Social Becomes Social And Incivility Is Acceptable," are published in the current issue of the Leadership and Organization Development Journal.
Allowing staff to swear at work can benefit them and their employers, according to researchers at a British university.
Yehuda Baruch, professor of management at the the University of East Anglia's Norwich Business School, and graduate Stuart Jenkins looked at the use of expletives and swearing in the workplace from a management point of view.
They identified the relevance and even importance of using non-conventional and sometimes uncivil language at work and how it may have a positive impact.
The study found regular use of profanity to express and reinforce solidarity among staff can enable them to express their feelings and develop social relationships.
Baruch said their aim was to challenge leadership styles and suggest ideas for best practice.
"Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner," Baruch said. "Swearing was as a social phenomenon to reflect solidarity and enhance group cohesiveness, or as a psychological phenomenon to release stress."
"Most of the cases were reported by employees at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchies and it was clear that executives use swearing language less frequently," he said. "The primary issue for management is whether or not to apply a tolerant leadership culture to the workplace and deliberately allow swearing."
The study found younger managers and professionals were more tolerant in what they accepted as ethical behavior, suggesting that age may be a moderator for the spreading of swearing language to the workplace. Women also swore more than might traditionally be expected, especially among themselves.
The study also found that swearing did not take place in front of or within close proximity to customers, but once they had gone or in staff areas.
The research suggests that while a ban on swear words and reprimanding staff might represent strong leadership, it would remove the source of solidarity and in doing so could lead to decreased morale and work motivation.
"We hope that this study will serve not only to acknowledge the part that swearing plays in our work and our lives, but also to indicate that leaders sometimes need to ?think differently?, and be open to intriguing ideas." Baruch said.
The results of the study, "Swearing At Work And Permissive Leadership Culture: When Anti-Social Becomes Social And Incivility Is Acceptable," are published in the current issue of the Leadership and Organization Development Journal.
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