Amanda Marcy, University of Scranton – Toward A More Civil Workplace

How do we foster a more civil tone in the workplace?

Amanda March, assistant professor of accounting at the University of Scranton, examines this question.

Amanda S. Marcy, Ph.D., assistant professor of accounting at The University of Scranton, has twice received the Curt Verschoor Ethics Feature of the Year Award from the Institute of Management Accountants’ Committee on Ethics and Strategic Finance for research articles she has co-authored. She serves as moderator of Scranton’s Nu Kappa chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, which was recognized for multiple years with Gold Chapter status by the international honor society for financial information students and professionals, A Certified Public Accountant, Dr. Marcy was named assistant professor of accounting at Scranton in 2018 and previously served as a faculty specialist in the department. She is a three-time graduate of The University of Scranton, having earned her bachelor’s degree, MBA and Ph.D. from Scranton.

Toward A More Civil Workplace

Incivility in the workplace mirrors the way we speak to and treat each other in today’s society. At work, these behaviors can lead to decreased productivity, job satisfaction and commitment, not to mention employee turnover.

Our survey of 190 finance and accounting professionals found that three-quarters experienced incivility from a supervisor, while six in 10 faced it from a co-worker. Prior research confirms that uncivil acts permeate all professions.

From ignoring feedback to publicly criticizing someone to speaking to a worker in a condescending way, there are myriad examples of both subtle and direct incivility.

Our research shows supervisor incivility impacts job satisfaction more significantly than co-worker incivility.

Organizations often fail to consciously create positive and supportive workplace environments, and employees may lack strategies to deal with uncivil acts against them.

Successful leaders set a tone that establishes expectations related to civility, and they demonstrate what civility means within their organization. They  spell out civil norms in company policies, job applications and employee contracts. They have programs that reward civil behavior and have consequences for uncivil acts, as well as training that fosters respect for co-workers.

Employees who rise above uncivil acts are those who don’t take incidents personally, remain calm, read the situation, avoid workplace bullies where possible and seek assistance from leaders or human resources to defuse difficult situations.