In his recent entry in the CERN company newsletter, Dr. Vincent Vuillemin, Ombudsman for the Geneva-based European Organization for Nuclear Research (one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research) has recommended our writing on workplace incivility to the organization’s 2,000 physicists, researchers and employees.
We are encouraged to see that these ideas resonate across oceans and cultures. Furthermore, we are thrilled that raising awareness about incivilty’s organizational impact is seen as a potent preventive tool for protecting workplace cultures from eroding.
Here’s a segment from Dr. Vuillemin’s piece:
“In 2011, the Canadian HR Reporter published several articles by Sharone Bar-David on workplace incivility (I would encourage you to read them here). These articles can shed some light on an internal issue here at CERN: what happens when there are violations of the Code of Conduct that we may face every day? Such incivilities can fly under the organizational radar and are not up to the level of any administrative or disciplinary action foreseen in the CERN Staff Rules and Regulations. However, if such breaches in respectful behaviour are tolerated continuously and nothing is done about them, they can create a toxic work climate. Furthermore, such a distortion of human relations can become, over time, embedded within our culture. People will simply believe that such behaviour is allowed and “normal”. Such incivilities are simply the visible tip of the iceberg, and can conceal bullying or abuse of authority. They can foster a climate in the workplace that favours the development of more severe violations.” (Read more)
If you wish to tackle workplace incivility in your organization, please contact us for your free, confidential, no-commitment consultation.
