From Incivility to Kindness:

But for too many, that lived experience is one where tension hangs in the air. Where brilliant ideas die before they’re spoken. Where employees spend more energy protecting themselves than innovating, and where enthusiasm is dimmed by countless small moments of dismissal and disrespect. That’s what we learn from the latest SHRM poll, which reveals that nearly 76% of employees have directly experienced or witnessed workplace incivility firsthand, leading to their taking nearly two sick days monthly to escape the workplace slights and disappointments. ¹  And the costs go beyond the individual: incivility at work has been associated with detrimental business outcomes such as lower job satisfaction, lower levels of engagement and innovation, higher intent to leave, and higher turnover rates.^1-3  It’s no surprise Gallup reports that only 31% of us feel engaged at work ⁴, with a staggering 76% fighting burnout ⁴, Incivility erodes the very foundations of organizational potential. Add to this picture that incivility not only affects its target, but also the witnesses, and its costs spread quickly, which is why American businesses are losing $2.7 billion daily to this problem.¹ Not to mention the impacts outside of work, in the community and at home. But we are not powerless. In fact, SHRM’s poll also shows that 74% of these harmful incidents could have been prevented through strategic intervention by management. ¹ So let’s work on it, shall we? Together, we can address this growing contagion. We are social beings. We are built for supportive connections. Even the perpetrators of incivility, at their core, want to be good people. So we need to provide the conditions that will entice each individual not merely to prevent harm, but rather to create good. We need an antidote that can spread just as easily from initiator to receiver and witnesses alike. A tool that can transform workplaces – and lives – for the better. And that tool is simple, accessible and free: workplace kindness.