SHRM launched its 1 Million Civil Conversations initiative this spring in the hope of increasing civility in workplaces. The organization claims there are 190 million acts of incivility in US workplaces each day, ranging from terse email exchanges, to workplace violence.
Workers cite political, social, and racial or ethnic differences as the main drivers of incivility, according to the Q3 SHRM Civility Index.
Yet, just 30% of workers say they have reported an uncivil act to an HR manager. That may be because “civility” can be a vague term that might be hard for workplaces to quantify.
HR Brew sat down with Jim Link, CHRO at SHRM, during the organization’s Inclusion 2024 conference earlier this month to discuss what civility really means, how politics shows up in the workplace, and why SHRM ads have been appearing on CNN.
The following has been edited for clarity and length.
Trump has said, on day one, he’s going to rid the federal government of DE&I initiatives, and do whatever he can to dismantle them in corporate America. How do you reconcile that when you’re trying to work with the current administration?
SHRM has a plethora of knowledge and information about the real benefits of inclusivity and belonging and civility in the workplace…you don’t want to have up to $1.2 billion a day in lost productivity in the American workplace. And our data indicates that, because of the amount of incivility that exists today, both in our society, which then gets translated into the workplace, that that is a potential outcome.
Incivility is broad and vague. What does it mean to you?
It is in the eye of the beholder. The answers [from HR leaders] ranged from terseness in both written and verbal communication that you might have [when you] bump into somebody in the hallway, they’re abrupt with you, or you perceive that they’re abrupt with you. That could be viewed by some folks as an act of incivility. Those were reported the most…but it goes all the way down to acts of violence. Fortunately, some 66% of people reported that the acts of incivility that they observed were tied to [communication].
Politics could play a role.
There’s a huge connectivity between people’s perceived political affiliations or associations, and how they feel that they are treated in the workplace. More than 80% of people told us they feel like that.
Certainly, those [political] conversations are occurring, and if they are occurring, then organizations need to have guard rails around what’s allowed and what’s not allowed…It’s how someone feels based on the interactions that they have with the other and how the culture responds to that.
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How do you manage the reality that feelings aren’t facts?
What we’re proposing in this idea of civility is to re-engage people in the idea that to have a good, strong business, you want that conversation.
What we’re suggesting to employers is to keep that from going off the rails, you absolutely have to establish the boundaries upon which that is acceptable…It’s going to be very different based upon the size of that business, whether it’s public or private, where it is in the country, what industry they’re in.
I was watching Jake Tapper [CNN] last weekend, and saw [SHRM CEO] Johnny C. Taylor in a TV ad. What is your goal behind this advertising campaign?
We’re trying to help business leaders understand that the idea of civility is a fundamental element of what we should be thinking about in the business workplace.
What we’re trying to do is reinduce the idea of norms in the workplace. [HR pros] get to establish what that norm is, and you get to then hold yourself…and your business accountable to what that is.
Some people from underrepresented groups feel that the civility campaign puts the onus on them to be kind to those discriminating against them.
I would argue that that’s a misplaced perception, because racism and all things that occur as a result of racism, are already outlawed in this country.
But discrimination happens every day, and lawsuits do not accurately represent its vastness. Does SHRM expect workers experiencing microaggressions to be respectful toward their oppressors?
Does a person have an obligation to make sure their leader, or their human resources person, understands what they are seeing, feeling, and believing? Yes, they do. Now, does the campaign of civility mean that you have to meet your aggressor halfway? No, absolutely not.
What we’re talking about are those micro things that could be perceived to be something that’s an act of incivility.
What’s the connection between civility, and inclusion and diversity?
Civility is a catalyst for creating an inclusive culture. These two things are very tightly connected in my mind. We believe that human resources leaders are the people who absolutely have to help drive this and set the standards for what inclusion and diversity looks like in the workplace.
Are you worried about the future of diversity initiatives?
I think we all are, and for a variety of reasons, but I’m also given hope. And I’m given hope because when I look at younger generations of people coming into the workplace, the lens in which they view the world is vastly different than every other generation.