How Swearing at Work Works

Swear words are usually considered workplace taboos -- yet the debate continues over whether these words are inappropriate, or examples of free speech. Learn more about using swear words at work in this HowStuffWorks podcast.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera.
It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff you should know
from house stuff works dot com? Welcome to the house
Stuff Works Podcast. I'm editor Candice Gibson, joined today by
my trustee staff writer Josh Clark. Josh are you today great? Candice?

(00:20):
How are you? I'm well? Well, that sounds like it
can only mean one thing. Today's topic of choice? Is
swearing at work a good thing? Josh? You seem to
be a pretty gunghir advocate of this. Why is that? Candice?
You remember my where your Hawaiian Shirt to Work? Campaign? Um?
The whole thing was just a drive to get everybody

(00:42):
loosen up and get to know each other. Well, it
didn't take as well as I had hoped, So now
I'm starting a swear at work campaign? Oh you can?
I know exactly where this came from. This article you're
it called is swearing at Work a good thing? Yeah? Yeah?
And this is based on an actual study. We're not
just like tossing own words for fun here. This came
out of Great Britain, the University of East Anglia, where

(01:05):
essentially some researchers looked at what happened to people who
swore in the workplace? Yeah, they hung around a mail
order warehouse. Yeah, and they were looking to see if
swearing at work alienated coworkers or if it actually brought
them closer together with you know, all the salty language
and people really showing their true colors. Sure, sure, I
could see a lot of cheeky Brits running around the
mail order warehouse just cursed in up the storm. You know.

(01:28):
It had to have been a really fun study to do,
I imagine. Well, I think so. And it was pretty
successful too, because the hypothesis was correct. It really did
establish better relationships among employees because they could feel like
they were really expressing themselves and really communicating with everyone
in an authentic way. Sure, it's a it's pretty much
basic social bonding theory. The more you share of yourself,

(01:49):
the more you can establish social bonds like trust. I mean,
how can you truly trust a co worker if they've
never heard you swear? I mean, think about how much
closer you and I are thanks to the word son
of you know that kind of thing. I know I
say this every time you turned an article to me.
But it's interesting, especially about this study is that the

(02:11):
mail room workers, like you were referring to these sort
of lower level employees. Yeah, they really let it rip
all the time. But when they examined how the executives
behaved and spoke to each other, no one really cussed
that much. It was a little bit more reserved and refined. Right. Well,
the studies authors were saying that they hope that while
management might not swear, uh, they they want to see

(02:36):
hr directors maybe look the other way or even encourage
it because it does develop social bonds. But you know,
the East Anglia study really didn't, you know, put the
whole thing to rest. This is a pretty whether or
not we should allow swearing in our culture, whether it
be on work or television or radio, is a pretty
big ongoing battle. It really is. And I now, for instance,

(02:58):
I was looking at the FCC and some of the
rules that they have about swearing and the idea of
a fleeting expletive, which is essentially when you just say
like hot pie and it's not really in context with
anything relating to sexual content or bathroom humor. Sometimes the
sec will lett networks get away with it. But when

(03:19):
you're talking about and there's a toilet in the same sentence.
That's not gonna fly. No, I agree. Um. And the
FCC is actually as strict as you might think their
standards are. They're not strict enough for some people. Have
you heard of the Parents Television Council? Yes? Some more? Okay,
Well they actually you may be upset about this. They
went after the producers of one of your favorite shows,

(03:40):
Gossip Girl, because they had a they who are you
really getting the hang of this swearing it or campaign? Well,
you know that I've had to take off my Hawaiian
sure in mine as well. Yes, I appreciate that too. Um.
So they go after Gossip Girl for this kind of
steamy ad promo campaign that they came up with, and
they all so didn't like. Um thirty rocks milf Island episode.

(04:03):
Did you see that one? It was a good one,
but the Parents Television Council didn't like it. Actually, these
people are pretty scientific. They've released studies of how much
of an increase in profanity there's been on television over
a set number of years. So for instance, and this
is during the Family Hour, which is eight to nine pm, Um,

(04:23):
there is a increase from two thousand one to two
thousand six in in Profanity Right, they found eight hundred
and fifteen foul wards in a hundred and eighty hours
of programming, which is four point five three swears an hour.
The most amazing thing is that somebody actually sat there
and watched a hundred and eighty hours of television programming

(04:44):
counted everyone of the swears. Well, clearly I'm in the
wrong business. But if you want to check out more
of our research, re Josh's article on is swearing at work?
A good thing? On how stuff works dot com. It's
been great. For more on this and thousands of other topics,
visit how stuff works dot com. Let us know what

(05:05):
you think. Send an email to podcast at how stuff
works dot com. Brought to you by the reinvented two
thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you