Civility in the workplace

We all want to feel happy when we’re at home and among friends. At work, it’s the same thing: we all want a trusting and collaborative work environment. There are a number of behaviours that contribute to a comfortable work environment, including respect, collaboration, politeness, common courtesy and good manners. Together, these behaviours define what we call civility. But even if everyone understands the importance of treating others with respect, things like stress, workloads, deadlines and the pressures of everyday life can lead to behaviours, gestures or words that can upset, offend or hurt other people. These types of uncivil behaviour are examples of incivility.