Creating a Culture of Civility in the Workplace

In order to help employees feel valued and respected, it’s important for organizations to work toward creating a culture of civility. While this should be a year-round goal for organizations, it becomes even more important during times with high political tension when employees may be feeling additional stress and coworkers may not all be experiencing the same emotions to the same degree.

While it’s good practice for all organizations to maintain a culture of civility by removing political discussion from the workplace, nonprofits have a legal obligation; 501(c)(3) organizations have strict limitations on their political involvement and could lose their tax-exempt status or face penalties if found in violation of the laws surrounding this type of activity.

However, civility is much more than just refraining from discussing politics within the workplace; civility in the workplace is about promoting behaviors that are respectful, professional, and polite. To develop a culture of civility in the workplace, managers and supervisors should work toward the following:

1. Model the Desired Behaviors

   It’s important that people in leadership positions model civility. This means using respectful language, demonstrating active listening, refraining from judgement, and treating others with respect, kindness, and fairness. Modeling behaviors like this will encourage others within the organization to adopt these behaviors as well.

2. Encourage Open Communication

   Transparency and open communication are essential to a civil workplace. Encourage employees to share their thinking and feelings in a respectful way, and ensure that all employees know their opinions are valued. Take a regular team pulse to provide employees with a means of sharing good news, questions, or concerns in a safe and secure manner. 

   
   

3. Foster Inclusion and Respect Diversity

   Create the opportunity for teams to capitalize on the diversity by respecting the different perspectives and cultures that may be present within the team. Encourage diverse team members to share their opinions and perspectives in a supportive and respectful environment. 

   
   

4. Acknowledge the Desired Behaviors

   When employees demonstrate civility be sure to acknowledge it. Private acknowledgement helps to reinforce behaviors to that particular employee, while public acknowledgement sets a benchmark for the team and encourages others to follow suit. 

Additionally, organizations can take the following steps to further promote a culture of civility:

1. Provide Formal Training

   Formal training for all employees is a great way to encourage a culture of civility. Employees at all levels should engage in training to help them improve their interpersonal skills. This may include training in conflict resolution or respectful communication. 

   
   

2. Ensure Policies Promote Civility

   It is important to consider diversity when drafting and updating organizational policies. To promote civility and understanding within the organization, policies should be in place to support and protect all employees at all levels.

   
   

3. Explicitly Define Standards of Civility

   Setting standards of civility is important because they provide very clear expectations for the behavior all employees should demonstrate. It is important to make sure all employees are aware of the standards, so sharing them at meetings or through training opportunities is a great way to ensure that all employees are aware of the standards they’re being held to.

   
   

4. Establish a Clear Conflict Resolution Process

   Conflict often brings out strong emotions, and in times when emotions are running high, employees are more likely to stray from the expectations for civility in the workplace. Having a clear conflict resolution process in place and providing conflict resolution training to all employees is a great way to ensure that when conflict arises, civility is maintained.

   
   

5. Periodically Assess Culture

   Assessing team culture on a regular basis through team pulse surveys or feedback sessions allows your organization to ensure that civility in the workplace is maintained. It may also help proactively identify potential issues and implement solutions so that workplace civility is maintained.

   
   

A culture of civility will help to ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and respect. In turn, this will help to foster an environment where employees feel engaged, valued and respected.