July 30, 2025 • 10 mins
In a world where civility seems lost, it's more crucial than ever to foster respect in the workplace. Discover why civility is essential for success in our latest episode! 🎙️ #WorkplaceWellness #CivilityMatters
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Welcome to The Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:44):
Welcome back to The Water Trough, this is Ed Drozda,
The Small Business Doctor.
Have you ever been treateduncivilly?
What sort of effect did it haveon you?
How did you respond to it?
How did you feel?
And what did you do as a resultof it?
When incivility is predominantpeople feel disengaged, they
(01:05):
feel defensive.
They feel unwanted, unneeded,unvalued, undervalued.
In this day and age civility haslost its meaning, it has become
less and less popular.
And that's what I want to talkabout today.
The role of civility in theworkplace and how it can enhance
(01:26):
our business efforts, and on theflip side, how the lack of it
can cause considerable damage.
We desperately need people towork together.
We need people to feel engaged.
To be committed to the missionand the vision of the
organization.
But in an uncivil environmentthat is hardly possible.
(01:48):
It's like the old saying everyman for himself.
If you're being treateduncivilly you're going to be
defending yourself, looking outfor yourself.
The last thing you're going todo is be working with those that
are treating you in that way.
Incivility is a workplace demon.
And it's a very pervasive demonat that.
In fact, you might considerincivility is something like a
(02:11):
virus.
It has the ability to rapidlyspread.
If the leadership is uncivil topeople in the organization there
will be those who will say ifthey can do it then I'll treat
other people the same way aswell.
It passes from one person to theother.
As it's passing by, even if it'snot directed at you, incivility
(02:33):
could have an impact on you.
Incivility can change the waythat you view things.
Even if it's not impacting youdirectly it can jade your
perspective.
It can make you feel lessinterested in participating or
working to make things work out.
These are just some of theeffects that incivility can have
(02:55):
upon an individual.
Now then, imagine what this islike for an organization as a
whole.
Incivility is very costly.
Decreased motivation,productivity and loss of
attention to detail, whichoccurs with incivility, is very
costly for an organization.
When people are not engaged,they don't work as hard, when
they don't work as hard, theydon't produce as much.
(03:18):
They make more mistakes.
Incivility costs a business alot of money.
What's more incivility can causeinstability.
Because of the disruption thatindividuals experience and
because incivility spreadsrapidly, the very integrity of a
business can be in jeopardy as aresult.
(03:41):
Just as a common cold or the flucan run through an organization,
incivility will not only invade,but can permeate the
organization and last forperiods of time.
Needless to say incivility issomething that we do not want in
the workplace.
It's not good for the workplaceas a whole.
(04:02):
It is civility that we'relooking for.
Why is civility so important,anyway?
What is the big deal aboutcivility?
Fundamentally people need tofeel respected.
The need for respect is a veryimportant need in the human
psyche.
Incivility is the completeopposite of that.
(04:25):
When we treat people withcivility we are among other
things, showing them respect.
We're fulfilling a basic needthat they have.
By doing so we engage them insuch a way that they can give us
their greatest level ofcommitment and performance.
It is a very basic need that wecan't ignore.
(04:46):
Civility is essential forsatisfaction.
Civility is essential for aqualified, dedicated, and
committed workforce.
Civility in the workplace,begins with management.
It's our responsibility to takesteps to encourage civility,
that is obviously to treatpeople in a civil manner.
(05:10):
If we do this we support thegrowth and spread of civility.
Civility, like incivility iscontagious.
If we are treating peoplecivilly, they in turn are more
inclined to treat others civillyas well.
And of course civilitythroughout an organization is
going to have a positive impactas we talked about before.
(05:33):
Therefore it's important, it'sessential that leadership, that
management encourages civilityby demonstrating its value by
being civil towards employeesand encouraging the growth
throughout the organization, ofcivility.
It's important to monitor thatit is truly doing so in a
(05:55):
genuine fashion.
Leadership has to take theresponsibility, I believe, to
demonstrate the importance ofcivility, reminding folks of the
fact that being treated withcivility is something that
really does encourage people towork more diligently, to be more
loyal, and to be more engaged.
(06:16):
This is the sort of thing thatleaders have to pass on down to
managers, and managers have toinspire in their employees as
well.
It's not only about encouragingthe spread of civility.
It's about truly believing init.
Civility is as much a part ofthe culture as any of a number
(06:37):
of other things are.
If one chooses to have a civilculture within their
organization it will spread.
Obviously there'll be exceptionsto the rule.
But in general civility being asprofoundly contagious as it is,
it will spread quiteeffectively.
Don't forget, incivility issomething that occurs quite
(06:59):
frequently as well.
And it is something that doesnot only come from others, but
it comes from within.
When it comes to incivility, theorigins are generally rooted in
some sort of insecurity.
And managers and leaders areoften times subject to
insecurities of their own.
(07:19):
In the positions that they areemployed they feel that they
must be of a certain caliber.
They must be perceived as havinga certain amount of authority.
Some folks in these roles areinherently insecure, and in that
insecurity, the very need toexpress themselves in a more
(07:39):
assertive way can interfere, andcan be perceived as incivility.
This is really critical for themanager and leader to be aware
of as insecurity can lead tomanifestations of incivility.
It's like a protectivemechanism, a defensive
mechanism.
If I'm insecure I put on my hardshell so that nobody can
(08:01):
penetrate.
Well, that hard shell is ineffect a manifestation of
incivility.
It's the indifference topeople's requests.
It's not listening to peoplecarefully.
It's being terse and curt, whenpeople are speaking.
So as managers and leaders, it'sextremely important that we
recognize these conditions inourselves, and are quite aware
(08:24):
of the potential for ourinsecurities to lead to uncivil
mannerisms and nature.
Above all.
It's important to remember thatcivility is a choice.
We can make a choice to promotecivility in our workplace.
We can make a choice personally,to treat people civilly.
If we do make such a choice,rest assured we're going to find
(08:48):
ourselves in a far betterposition than if we choose the
alternative.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor.
I hope you will consider yourchoice about civility, and until
we meet again I want to wish youa healthy business.
Welcome to The Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:44):
Welcome back to The Water Trough, this is Ed Drozda,
The Small Business Doctor.
Have you ever been treateduncivilly?
What sort of effect did it haveon you?
How did you respond to it?
How did you feel?
And what did you do as a resultof it?
When incivility is predominantpeople feel disengaged, they
(01:05):
feel defensive.
They feel unwanted, unneeded,unvalued, undervalued.
In this day and age civility haslost its meaning, it has become
less and less popular.
And that's what I want to talkabout today.
The role of civility in theworkplace and how it can enhance
(01:26):
our business efforts, and on theflip side, how the lack of it
can cause considerable damage.
We desperately need people towork together.
We need people to feel engaged.
To be committed to the missionand the vision of the
organization.
But in an uncivil environmentthat is hardly possible.
(01:48):
It's like the old saying everyman for himself.
If you're being treateduncivilly you're going to be
defending yourself, looking outfor yourself.
The last thing you're going todo is be working with those that
are treating you in that way.
Incivility is a workplace demon.
And it's a very pervasive demonat that.
In fact, you might considerincivility is something like a
(02:11):
virus.
It has the ability to rapidlyspread.
If the leadership is uncivil topeople in the organization there
will be those who will say ifthey can do it then I'll treat
other people the same way aswell.
It passes from one person to theother.
As it's passing by, even if it'snot directed at you, incivility
(02:33):
could have an impact on you.
Incivility can change the waythat you view things.
Even if it's not impacting youdirectly it can jade your
perspective.
It can make you feel lessinterested in participating or
working to make things work out.
These are just some of theeffects that incivility can have
(02:55):
upon an individual.
Now then, imagine what this islike for an organization as a
whole.
Incivility is very costly.
Decreased motivation,productivity and loss of
attention to detail, whichoccurs with incivility, is very
costly for an organization.
When people are not engaged,they don't work as hard, when
they don't work as hard, theydon't produce as much.
(03:18):
They make more mistakes.
Incivility costs a business alot of money.
What's more incivility can causeinstability.
Because of the disruption thatindividuals experience and
because incivility spreadsrapidly, the very integrity of a
business can be in jeopardy as aresult.
(03:41):
Just as a common cold or the flucan run through an organization,
incivility will not only invade,but can permeate the
organization and last forperiods of time.
Needless to say incivility issomething that we do not want in
the workplace.
It's not good for the workplaceas a whole.
(04:02):
It is civility that we'relooking for.
Why is civility so important,anyway?
What is the big deal aboutcivility?
Fundamentally people need tofeel respected.
The need for respect is a veryimportant need in the human
psyche.
Incivility is the completeopposite of that.
(04:25):
When we treat people withcivility we are among other
things, showing them respect.
We're fulfilling a basic needthat they have.
By doing so we engage them insuch a way that they can give us
their greatest level ofcommitment and performance.
It is a very basic need that wecan't ignore.
(04:46):
Civility is essential forsatisfaction.
Civility is essential for aqualified, dedicated, and
committed workforce.
Civility in the workplace,begins with management.
It's our responsibility to takesteps to encourage civility,
that is obviously to treatpeople in a civil manner.
(05:10):
If we do this we support thegrowth and spread of civility.
Civility, like incivility iscontagious.
If we are treating peoplecivilly, they in turn are more
inclined to treat others civillyas well.
And of course civilitythroughout an organization is
going to have a positive impactas we talked about before.
(05:33):
Therefore it's important, it'sessential that leadership, that
management encourages civilityby demonstrating its value by
being civil towards employeesand encouraging the growth
throughout the organization, ofcivility.
It's important to monitor thatit is truly doing so in a
(05:55):
genuine fashion.
Leadership has to take theresponsibility, I believe, to
demonstrate the importance ofcivility, reminding folks of the
fact that being treated withcivility is something that
really does encourage people towork more diligently, to be more
loyal, and to be more engaged.
(06:16):
This is the sort of thing thatleaders have to pass on down to
managers, and managers have toinspire in their employees as
well.
It's not only about encouragingthe spread of civility.
It's about truly believing init.
Civility is as much a part ofthe culture as any of a number
(06:37):
of other things are.
If one chooses to have a civilculture within their
organization it will spread.
Obviously there'll be exceptionsto the rule.
But in general civility being asprofoundly contagious as it is,
it will spread quiteeffectively.
Don't forget, incivility issomething that occurs quite
(06:59):
frequently as well.
And it is something that doesnot only come from others, but
it comes from within.
When it comes to incivility, theorigins are generally rooted in
some sort of insecurity.
And managers and leaders areoften times subject to
insecurities of their own.
(07:19):
In the positions that they areemployed they feel that they
must be of a certain caliber.
They must be perceived as havinga certain amount of authority.
Some folks in these roles areinherently insecure, and in that
insecurity, the very need toexpress themselves in a more
(07:39):
assertive way can interfere, andcan be perceived as incivility.
This is really critical for themanager and leader to be aware
of as insecurity can lead tomanifestations of incivility.
It's like a protectivemechanism, a defensive
mechanism.
If I'm insecure I put on my hardshell so that nobody can
(08:01):
penetrate.
Well, that hard shell is ineffect a manifestation of
incivility.
It's the indifference topeople's requests.
It's not listening to peoplecarefully.
It's being terse and curt, whenpeople are speaking.
So as managers and leaders, it'sextremely important that we
recognize these conditions inourselves, and are quite aware
(08:24):
of the potential for ourinsecurities to lead to uncivil
mannerisms and nature.
Above all.
It's important to remember thatcivility is a choice.
We can make a choice to promotecivility in our workplace.
We can make a choice personally,to treat people civilly.
If we do make such a choice,rest assured we're going to find
(08:48):
ourselves in a far betterposition than if we choose the
alternative.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor.
I hope you will consider yourchoice about civility, and until
we meet again I want to wish youa healthy business.
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