Background
Many people feel overworked, stressed out, and pushed to the max. The result is that unpleasant occurrences that leave us angry and willing to vent that anger on each other are going on in offices today. Ego-crushing e-mail messages are sent, catcalls occur at the conference table, and disparaging remarks are whispered in the hallway. While much has been written about workplace violence, it is often the subtle things at the office that can take the biggest toll. In addition, Budget cuts, management changes, the incessant demands of instantaneous electronic communication, and other tension-producing factors can increase office hostility.
Yet. office hostility often can be both overt and covert, much like Oscar Wilde's character, Dorian Gray. On the surface, some companies look like simply places to work-proactive, synergistic, and " outside the box." But somewhere inside, underneath the curtain, there is that dare portrait, growing more ugly, decrepit and deceitful. We are now a culture that celebrates impulse over restraint, notoriety over achievement, rule breaking over rule keeping and incendiary expression over minimal civility. Each week brings new benchmarks of incivility and rudeness in the workplace.
Not surprisingly, it is not long before rudeness can rise to the level of abuse. For example, two workers were filing papers together in a small cubicle and bumped into each other, which escalated into an exchange of insults and then punches. Corporate security guards had to break up the fight. Then there was a senior officer at a bank who threw an ashtray at a subordinate who irritated him. Instead of being rebuked, he was promoted shortly thereafter.