"Giving face” is very much a part of Malaysia’s social and business fabric. “Face” stands for dignity and integrity. As such, giving face includes no direct confrontation and not embarrassing others publicly.
Yet, at the workplace, there are few of us who haven’t experienced rude behaviour — either on the sharp receiving end or as a witness seeing a colleague being targeted.
If we’re honest, at some point or another, most of us have likely also dealt out a degree of rudeness ourselves. Maybe, in reaction to having been the target of such behaviour, maybe unintended because we are tired, have too much work to do or just did not pay attention. Often, rudeness at work is dismissed as a flash in the pan; an inevitable but inconsequential side effect of the daily pressures of working life.
“Get over it and move on” is the standard remedy. But, is it really so trivial or is there something deeper and more troubling taking place?
Over the past 15 years, a growing body of research has shown workplace incivility to be a pervasive behaviour and one that carries a high price. One study, for example, found 98 per cent of workers reported experiencing incivility at work, with half saying they had been the recipient of such conduct at least weekly.
Researchers have even estimated the business cost of incivility at US$14,000 (RM59,220) per employee annually. Words certainly carry great power. Used constructively they can create bonds, open opportunities and seal deals. But as ammunition, they can cause huge damage, undoing in an instant that which has taken thousands of dollars and work hours to build.
Incivility is different from other forms of negative workplace behaviour, such as bullying, violence or aggression, which are more overt and easier to identify. Examples might include talking down to others, demeaning remarks and not listening to or talking over another’s viewpoint. It may also have underlying implications of sexism, racism or other prejudice.
But defining the specifics of incivility is difficult as the intent
to cause harm tends to be ambiguous.
Studies in organisational behaviour have shown that incidents of incivility can have a range of consequences, including:
EMPLOYEE stress and frustration;
POOR motivation and productivity, and
WORK distraction or delays as staff members withdraw from workplace engagement and/or try to avoid instigators.
Some studies have suggested that, unchecked, these may lead to an escalating spiral of incivility as one worker takes out their frustrations on another, perhaps leading to more severe behaviour.
Others have looked at how affected staff may resort to taking out frustrations on customers, with obvious potential cost implications for a firm’s reputation.
Studies have also looked at the impact on those who witness incivility taking place, rather than being the actual recipient. This, too, can have a range of consequences similar to those detailed above.
A significant and consistent finding from research is that workplace incivility occurs worldwide — across countries and cultures — and has similar negative consequences wherever it takes place.
In other words, while different cultures may have different perceptions as to what qualifies as rude behaviour, the negative effects of workplace incivility, whatever that behaviour may be, are universal.
A similar finding has been observed across different organisational and industrial cultures. For example, being yelled at in a masculine organisational culture, such as an army training camp, might be considered par for the course, while a similar encounter at a child day-care centre would be considered highly uncivil.
Yet, the body of research has shown consistently that even for workers who might be thought to have built up a tolerance for rudeness (for example, call centre operators), small incidents of incivility still have an impact.
While we are beginning to appreciate the costs of incivility, a notable gap in current research is whether different sources of rude behaviour — for example, from co-workers, supervisors or customers — generates different outcomes.
We can assume, however, that it is likely uncivil behaviour coming from a supervisor is more harmful than from a co-worker because employees depend on their supervisors for evaluations and rewards.
Similarly, rude behaviour from a co-worker is probably more harmful than from a customer because employees may have just one encounter with an uncivil customer, but will have to face an uncivil co-worker every working day.
The impact or consequences of incivility can be wide-ranging, affecting a targeted worker’s mood and attitudes towards work as well as his or her family and personal life. It can also have behavioural effects, causing those targeted by incivility to lash out in retaliation or exhibit other counterproductive conduct either in the workplace or elsewhere.
We have also seen that being a witness to incivility can have an impact on mood and attitudes, negatively affecting such areas as helpfulness at work, levels of engagement or other aspects of corporate citizenship.
The broad body of knowledge we have so far accumulated on incivility makes for alarming reading, showing such behaviour is widespread and can generate a huge financial impact.
There are, however, gaps and still further study remains to be done. One area that has received only preliminary attention is the causes of incivility in the workplace, an understanding of which is critical towards mitigating such harmful behaviour.
Nonetheless, we can see that the impact of workplace incivility is more than just a trivial flash in the pan. It can have damaging and lasting effects that exact high costs, both for individuals and firms.
This is especially so when operating in a country like Malaysia. Although its people comprise three major ethnic groups — Malays, Chinese and Indians — yet all three ethnicities share one common cultural strand: “giving face” is very much a part of its social and business fabric.
In the West, it is common and not considered rude — in fact, it is expected — to ask challenging questions about a colleague’s work presentation. In Malaysian culture, it is considered “shaming”, and especially so if the colleague is a more elderly person.
To do well and last long in Malaysian business, it is important to learn how to preserve the other’s face by never directly saying “no” and being able to couch negative feedback positively. If face is preserved, harmony and respect will be maintained, and a business deal may well materialise.
The writer is Assistant Professor of Management & Organisation at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School