Watch your mouth: Bad language can alter our behavior in business

I am working with an entrepreneur who runs an efficient operation and is quite successful. His assistant, however, has all of his managers up in arms.

Why?

Well, he uses a ton of profanity when he gets upset. The managers are unhappy primarily because the assistant’s use of profanity is causing a morale issue throughout the business.

When I talked with the assistant, he said he thought his use of profanity was fine, since the owner also used it regularly. He could not see why people would be upset with him if he was simply using the same words his boss uses.

As we discovered, the problem originated with the entrepreneur, not the assistant.

The entrepreneur did not understand how his behavior could have such an effect on his assistant and the operation as a whole. Leaders must constantly demonstrate the behavior that they want in their workplace. Therefore, if the entrepreneur was going to ask his assistant not to use profanity, he was going to have to stop using it first.

I believe the best strategy for stopping profanity in the workplace is clearly explaining to the staff why it is unacceptable and building this into the employee manual. Of course, no amount of instruction or documentation is going to stop swearing if the entrepreneur does not do it as well.

Now, before everyone comes to the false conclusion that I never use profanity, let me just say that it occasionally finds its way into my vocabulary as well. If I hit my finger with a hammer, I am going to curse a bunch. However, I try to never let it happen in the workplace. Does it occasionally slip out? Of course, but not very often.

Simply put, profanity is not acceptable in today’s work environment. Not so much because the language is offensive, but more so because it signals a lack of professionalism.

In addition, profanity is frequently the match that can set off the stick of dynamite.

Legally, the use of profanity can – and frequently does – cause problems under discrimination and harassment laws. If you are wondering how someone could be sued for using profanity indiscriminately in the workplace, the answer is perception.

If someone is offended by profanity, they will frequently feel like they are being targeted. Employment attorneys will tell you that preparing a defense for such actions is extremely difficult.

Profanity is bad business – it makes a bad impression. Moreover, many people are offended by the use of profanity.

Make sure your company has a policy on profanity. More importantly, make sure you are a great example of the behavior that you want your staff to follow.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Watch your mouth: Bad language can alter our behavior in business."