Business Etiquette
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Inappropriate Remarks at Work
May 07, 2008
Recently, I’ve developed the sense that something—and not something positive—is taking place in offices across the country. In a relatively short time, I’ve been asked to develop and present content that relates to inappropriate remarks in the workplace. The clients who have phoned me have said that in most cases the statements causing concern do not constitute sexual harassment. Those clients have added, however, that some people, who overheard the remarks, felt them to be patently offensive.
In preparing content for these programs, I was both surprised and disappointed by some year-old research. A 2006 telephone survey undertake by Novations Group, a business performance consulting firm, revealed startling data about what we hear at work:
- 42% of all respondents, and 38% of women respondents, reported hearing sexually inappropriate comments
- 35% of respondents reported hearing racial slurs
- 33% of respondents reported hearing ethnic slurs
- 27% of respondents reported hearing ridicule based on age
- 23% of respondents reported hearing ridicule based on sexual orientation
- 10% of respondents reported hearing ridicule based on a disability
No one should doubt that offensive remarks can directly impact work performance. Research has consistently demonstrated that even mild forms of harassment—crude comments and/or jokes—can cause significant psychological distress, thereby affecting the productivity of an entire group of workers.
The Novations Group research suggests the need for all of us to stop and think carefully before we speak. We must stand in the shoes of others with whom we work and ask ourselves, “How would someone else, someone who is not like me, hear this remark?” If there is any possibility that another will take offense, we should think good and hard about opening our mouths.
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