1. OB on the Edge
The Toxic Workplace

2. 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 243.

3. Incidents of Negative Behaviour
A survey of 603 Toronto nurses 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on pages 243.

4. 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 243.

5. What Causes Incivility?
Excessive demands in workplace
Overtime
Downsizing
Rapid technological changes
Company restructuring
Difficulty balancing the demands of job and home
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 244.

6. 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 244.

7. FactBox
In 2000, only 49% of working Canadians say they are committed to their employer. In 1991, the level of commitment was 62%.
More Americans report commitment to their employers than Canadians: 55% of Americans vs. 49% of Canadians.
12% of those who experience rudeness quit their jobs in response, 22% decrease their work effort, and 52% lose work time worrying about it.
Employees over the age of 55 express the highest degree of commitment to their employers.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 244.

8. The Toxin Handler
The toxin 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.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on pages

9. 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on pages
Actor Behaviour: These managers act out anger rather than discuss problems. They slam doors, sulk and make it clear they’re angry, but refuse to talk about it.
Macho Culture: People don’t discuss problems. The emphasis is to “take it like a man.”
Fragmentor Behaviour: These managers see no connection between what they do and the outcome, and take no responsibility for their behaviour.
Specialist Culture: Employees who are technically gifted or great in their fields don’t have to consider how their behaviour or work impacts anyone.
Me-First Behaviour: These managers make decisions based on their own convenience.
Elitist Culture: Promotes and rewards not according to work but to who your buddies are.
Mixed-Messenger Behaviour: These managers present themselves one way, but their behaviour doesn’t match what they say.
Office-Politics Culture: Promotes and rewards based on flattery and positioning.
Wooden-Stick Behaviour: These managers are extremely rigid and controlling.
Change-Resistant Culture: Upper management struggles to maintain the status quo regardless of the outcome.
Escape-Artist Behaviour: These managers don’t deal with reality, often lying, or at the extreme, escaping through drugs or alcohol.
Workaholic Culture: Forces employees to spend more time at the office than necessary.

10. 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
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on pages

11. 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 you would have others do unto you,” should still have a role in today’s workplace. Being nice pays off.
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 246.

12. Your Perspective
1. Is it reasonable to suggest, as some researchers have, that young people today have not learned to be civil to others, or don’t place a high priority on doing so? Do you see this as one of the causes of incivility in the workplace?
2. What should be done about managers who create toxicity in the workplace while being rewarded because they achieve bottom-line results? Should bottom-line results justify their behaviour?
Material pertinent to this discussion is found on page 247.