The Problem with Profanity at Work
Broken equipment, unreliable coworkers, unappreciative customers...there are plenty of reasons your cleaning technicians might reach their breaking point. In these moments of frustration, workers may let an f-bomb or other curse word slip.
Whether used during an angry rant or as a casual form of expression, profanity at work can have a negative effect. It can disrupt team cohesiveness, reduce productivity, and decrease morale. It can also influence how customers view employees and the company as a whole.
Commercial cleaning company owners who don't control their employees' language can end up losing key players and customer contracts. It could even create a hostile work environment that lays the groundwork for a harassment lawsuit.
Think your company doesn't have a cursing problem? There's a good chance you're wrong. In its 2016 Work Management Survey of more than 1,500 workers, Wrike found the majority of people (57%) swear in the workplace, and 25% say they swear daily. Conversely, 41% of workers feel that swearing is too casual and unprofessional.
Uncovering Profanity at Work
The best way to uncover the truth about cursing in your workplace is to have employees complete an anonymous online survey (you can use a service like Survey Monkey or Typeform for free). Ask employees if they hear profanity at work and how they feel about it.
Also, take a look at yourself because company culture starts at the top. The Wrike survey found 66% of workers are more likely to swear if their boss swears. Is your own language setting a bad example? Is your typical response to employee profanity sending the wrong message?
Whether you have a pervasive profanity problem or just a casual cursing culture, it's a good idea to address the issue in your employee handbook. Draw up a code that prohibits or limits written and spoken profanity.
Draft Your Profanity Policy
Add a profanity section to your employee handbook (it's a good idea to include it along with topics like discrimination and sexual harassment). It will benefit you to involve a human resources professional in this process.
A zero-tolerance policy is easiest to create and enforce, but it may also be too limiting. Wrike found that 33% of workers would not consider accepting a position in an organization in which swearing is strictly banned. Also, an overzealous policy can also have legal ramifications as certain profanity may be protected speech or violate rulings by the National Labor Relations Board.
If you aren't going to fully ban profanity, then you'll need to provide a great deal of context about what is and isn't acceptable. Cursing at an inanimate object is clearly less severe than targeting foul language at a person. Likewise, habit cursing (“hell” and “damn” level of swearing) is usually seen as far different and less offensive than the F-word. Perhaps you'll overlook habit cursing among employees but strictly prohibit any bad words in front of customers or while wearing a uniform in public.
The policy may also require employees to respect their coworkers' sensitivities. If another employee asks them to not use certain words, then they are required to make every effort to accommodate those wishes.
Also, it's important to note that the Department of Labor says “verbal abuse including offensive, profane, and vulgar language” can be an indication of potential workplace violence. So it's a good idea to ban profane language that is specifically used to intimidate or bully.
Even in a company with lax profanity rules, every company should place an absolute ban on specific language that is unacceptable in any context. This includes slurs based on race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation (categories protected by federal anti-discrimination laws). In these cases, profane language violates federal law and could lead to harassment and discrimination complaints, and you are required by law to address such issues.
Also, you should prohibit profane language related to body parts and sexual innuendo. Vulgarity, crude jokes, and obscene insults can create a hostile work environment and result in sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits.
Enact and Enforce Your Profanity Policy
Whatever the organizational policy is concerning cursing, it needs to be documented, modeled by leaders, and consistently enforced. Failing to do so can leave you open to claims of discrimination or harassment.
Your profanity policy should clearly outline disciplinary measures for violations. Generally, a good approach is using a progressive policy that starts with a verbal warning, escalates to anger management courses for repeated offenses, and ends in dismissal if the problem persists. The policy may also consider context, however, with harsher discipline for more severe language.
Once your policy is in place, you need to tell employees about the change. Review the policy in a company meeting and provide everyone with the written policy.
If your company has been relaxed about profanity in the past, it's a good idea to give advance notice of the changes. Let employees know the policy goes into effect in 30 days so they have time to adjust before facing consequences.
In these cases, be honest about the policy change. Tell employees you know the company has been loose with language in the past, but that you've come to realize such language or behavior can be offensive and even legally troublesome. Ask for their help and commitment in fixing the problem by taking the new policy seriously.
Finally, remember the profanity policy during your hiring process. Ask candidates how they feel about cursing in the workplace and pay attention to their demeanor. Choose employees who will respect your policies, even if it means passing on highly qualified applicants.
Words are powerful. Whether you take a hard line on profanity or simply roll back how often and what type of curse words you allow, it's important to address potty-mouth language in the workplace. Is “free speech” worth potentially destroying the company you've built? If your answer is no, then now is the time to create and enforce a profanity policy.
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