5 Proactive Strategies to Prevent Workplace Incivility

Workplaces are often a microcosm of society, reflecting the best and worst of human behaviour. In recent years, the focus on creating a positive work environment has intensified, bringing to light issues like incivility, unsociable behaviour, rudeness and microaggressions that significantly impact workplace culture and employee wellbeing.

What is Incivility in the Workplace?

Incivility can take many forms in the workplace. Examples of incivility include behaviours such as rudeness, belittling team members, pointing fingers at mistakes, or taking credit for other team members’ work. In general, incivility is a form of disrespecting others within the organisation. These behaviours can be blatant and bold, such as hurtful feedback to team members. They can also be more subtle and harder to pinpoint, such as being unresponsive or not acknowledging team members’ presence.

Why is Building a Culture that Prevents Incivility More Effective Than Just Addressing Occasional Disrespectful Behaviour?

Incivility is a recipe for stress, both for your employees and for you, the employer. Performance plummets as morale tanks. Relationships crumble, leaving a toxic work culture in their wake. Top talent, frustrated and disrespected, walk out the door, taking their skills and experience elsewhere. And if left unchecked, this incivility can escalate into more serious behaviours like bullying, harassment and discrimination.

How Workplace Incivility Impacts Psychological Health and Job Performance

The SuperFriend Indicators of a Thriving Workplace (ITW) national survey data from 2023 examined characteristics of workplace relationships[1] that conceptually relate to incivility, i.e. the extent to which people are ‘polite to each other’, or and ‘care about each other’ in the workplace. Lower levels of agreement with these items were associated with higher exposure to harmful workplace experiences and higher levels of psychological distress. These workers also reported lower intentions to stay, and lower perceived job performance or productivity.

To prevent harassment, we need to move beyond identifying and punishing offenders, and instead focus on building a foundation of safety, respect, and inclusion. This means creating an environment where all forms of disrespectful behaviour – from rudeness and incivility to bullying and harassment – are simply not tolerated. When small acts of disrespect are allowed to flourish, it creates an environment where more severe forms of harassment can take root. By stopping these smaller behaviours, we can significantly reduce the risk of serious problems down the road.

A Core Aspect of a Respectful Workplace is Fostering a Culture of Inclusion

The way your organisation functions – from leadership policies to day-to-day interactions – shapes how employees feel. Do they feel welcome, valued, and able to be themselves? If not, a culture of incivility can easily take root. Employees who feel excluded, unheard, or undervalued are less likely to speak up about inappropriate behaviour. This silence can embolden those who engage in disrespectful conduct, creating a vicious cycle that erodes morale, productivity, and ultimately, your organisation’s success.

How a Strong Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) Protects Employee Mental Health and Morale

National ITW survey data enables grouping Australian workers according to the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC, Hall et al., 2010), where strong or high PSC scores represent workplaces with perceived practices and procedures that emphasise the importance of psychosocial health and safety of employees in the workplace. Workplaces with a strong PSC (high PSC scores) show lower levels of exposure to harmful workplace experiences, higher levels of agreement that the workplace is a mentally healthy place to work and higher Safety and overall Thriving Domain scores[2]. For example, 82% employees report not being exposed to harmful workplace experiences[3] in the past 12 months, compared to only with 37% of those with very low PSC scores.

The ITW data also demonstrate some of the benefits, in the form of work and health outcomes, of a workplace with a strong PSC and low levels of incivility, including:

● Fewer employees report clinically damaging levels of psychological distress, and fewer take leave for their distress
● Lower percentage of employees report intentions to leave their current employer
● Employees report higher levels of perceived job performance

A high PSC work environment with lower levels of incivility is also protective of employee mental health, i.e. only 14% describe their mental health as worse than 12 months ago, relative to 48% of those with very low PSC. Perhaps most dramatic is the statistic for those with mental health conditions working in a strong PSC environment: 18% report that work made a positive impact on their mental health, and only 34% report that work caused or made it worse (compared to 75% of those with very low PSC scores reporting work caused or made their condition worse).

5 Proactive Strategies to Prevent Incivility in the Workplace

Take the first step to creating a respectful work environment with these strategies:

1. Develop a Respectful Workplace Policy 

A strong policy is the cornerstone of preventing incivility. Your respectful workplace policy should clearly define acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, providing concrete examples. This helps employees understand what constitutes respectful conduct and what crosses the line into incivility. Make sure the policy outlines clear reporting procedures and consequences for violating the policy. Regularly review and update the policy to ensure it reflects current best practices.

2. Provide Examples of Good and Bad Conduct and Behaviour 

Don’t assume all employees have underlying knowledge of what’s good and bad. Provide clear examples that illustrate both positive and negative behaviour in various workplace scenarios. Focus on situations relevant to your specific workplace to make it relatable. Seeing concrete examples helps employees understand how the policy translates to everyday interactions.

3. Encourage Open Communication 

Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up about incivility is crucial. Implementing anonymous feedback mechanisms or regular check-ins can provide employees with a safe space to express their concerns.

4. Implement Accessible and Confidential Reporting Procedures

Empower employees to speak up by offering multiple, accessible ways to report incivility or harassment. This could include a designated HR representative, an anonymous online reporting system, or a third-party reporting hotline. The key is to ensure confidentiality and a safe space for employees to voice concerns.

5. Have Consistent Enforcement

For a Respectful Workplace Policy to have teeth, you need to hold everyone accountable. Everyone, regardless of position or seniority, needs to be held accountable for their actions. When incidents are reported, investigate them thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action as outlined in the policy. Consistent enforcement demonstrates a commitment to creating a safe and respectful environment.

Create a Thriving, Respectful Workplace with Aspect’s Psychosocial Leadership Training

Compliance training can feel like a checkbox exercise, leaving employees unprepared to handle real-world situations. At Aspect Group, we believe in interactive training that equips your leaders with the skills they need to cultivate a GREAT (Great Respect, Accountability, Equity, Trust) workplace that is underpinned by respect, accountability, equity and trust.

Our People Leader Training goes beyond basic compliance. Through engaging activities and real-world scenarios, leaders learn how to:

● Foster a culture rooted in respect, accountability, and inclusion
● Effectively address incivility and conflict, ensuring swift resolutions
● Promote open communication and psychological safety

By investing in our People Leader Training, you’re not just checking a box; you’re investing in the wellbeing of your employees and the success of your organisation.

Additionally, Aspect Group offers a comprehensive suite of services to help you manage psychosocial risks, including:

● Psychosocial Risk Management: Identify potential risks in your workplace and develop strategies to mitigate them.

● Psychosocial Assessment and Action Planning: Gain a deeper understanding of your current workplace culture and develop a plan to build a more respectful and inclusive environment.

SuperFriend also has a workplace benchmarking tool, The Thriving Workplace Index, that can help you measure the overall mental health of your workplace, compare against national and industry data and guide you in how to build a mentally healthy environment.

In conclusion, fostering a respectful workplace that actively prevents incivility is not only about maintaining good behaviour—it’s essential for the wellbeing, productivity, and long-term success of an organisation. By addressing incivility at its roots and promoting a culture of respect, organisations can protect both their people and their performance, ultimately building a thriving, inclusive workplace.

Cultivating Respect: Strategies for Managing Workplace Incivility Webinar

Watch on demand

Promoting respect and positivity is essential for employee wellbeing and organisational success. In this webinar, Pippa Rose and Stephanie Thompson discuss the causes and impacts of incivility, share practical strategies for prevention, and explore effective techniques to manage incivility and cultivate civility. Whether you’re a leader or an employee, you’ll gain valuable insights to help create a more respectful, positive, and productive work environment.

References:

1. Indicator items of the Connectedness domain. 

2. Safety Domain scores – The extent to which Organisations have clear policies and procedures and/or zero tolerance approaches in place to manage unacceptable behaviour and promote psychological safety in the workplace; Overall Thriving scores – across the 5 SuperFriend Domains, the extent to which organisations enable employees to thrive through well-managed employee mental health.

3. Work-related violence, bullying, abuse of power, discrimination, manipulation, sexual harassment & sexual assault.