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On Trend: Civility vs. Incivility

Welcome to another installment of “On Trend”! This week we’re looking at civility in the workplace, a hot topic for security practitioners and the companies that hire them.

Workplace environments are where folks with differing backgrounds, beliefs, and experience come together to do their jobs. Sometimes it’s in an office. Other times employees are remote. Collaboration is the hallmark of successful work settings regardless of where teams are located. However, potential for conflict – and incivility – exists anytime more than one individual’s idea is in play.

What is workplace incivility?

Workplace incivility presents in a variety of behaviors and the core driver is disrespect for other colleagues on some basis. It can be subtle, such as one colleague ignoring or constantly interrupting another. Undermining someone’s credibility by instigating rumors is also a characteristic. Discourteous actions like these are different from workplace misconduct, but things can escalate if left unaddressed.

Workplace incivility has become more common.

This year brought a major election in the US and it’s been an additional stressor for employers and their employees. We have heard horror stories from both human resources and security teams that saw interactions between staff become ever more contentious as the year progressed.

Election cycles don’t have exclusivity on stressors that provoke mistrust, though. Security practitioners are remarkably familiar with extreme behavior when civil communication has broken down and manifests as workplace violence.

Incivility impacts collaboration and can damage brand reputation.

There are a considerable number of negative impacts that can occur in a less-than-civil workplace. Collaboration on the part of team members fails as the willingness to take part stops. Employees feel less safe to share ideas and there is an erosion of trust in both peers and management.

As productivity falls, work suffers. As a result, the company’s products or services degrade and the organization’s overall brand reputation begins to tarnish. Environments such as this are often cited as the top reason a great employee chose to move onto another company before their personal brand was degraded.

What can organizational leadership do to foster a positive, civil workplace?

Thoughtful ideas for implementing a civility posture in an organization include:

  • Setting the tone by engaging in respectful behavior, offering teams a model on which to build communication strategies.
  • Promotion of open dialogue to provide a safe environment in which teams can collaborate.
  • Provision of conflict management training and consistent validation of positive behavior.
  • Incorporation of civility standards into codes of conduct.
  • Creation of reporting measures whereby those who engage in uncivil behavior are held accountable.

Great information is available to help integrate civility into organizations.

Large global management consulting firms endorsed civility as a tenant in 2024, and produced related reports and blog pieces that can inform you. SHRM, the world’s largest HR association, has been championing civility throughout the year. They continue to publish a wealth of supporting materials such as podcasts, a civility index, and civility starter kits to help grow the concept in organizations.

Civility as an inspiration for the coming year.

There is still time to build a workplace civility agenda despite the approach of the end of the year!

The wishes we extend to friends, family, and colleagues at this time of year often include the words peace, hope, and joy. All of these require the presence of civility to be meaningful and true. Carry their inspiration forward into the New Year, and beyond.


About On Trend

Want to stay on top of the latest trends in security careers? Every other week SJN highlights a hot topic we just can’t seem to stop talking and hearing about. From top news stories to exclusive insights, we’ll break things down for you and help you stay on top of the professional security jobs market.

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