Aug. 23, 2008

Chicago Tribune

Manners for Pleasure and Profit

Companies, cities and even countries realize that investing in politeness pays off, socially and economically.

Employers are wary that incivility is on the rise in the workplace, where for the first time co-worker conflict replaced workload as the primary cause of stress, according to ComPsych’s 2006 StressPulse survey. Such incivility is costly: if such an attitude prevails in the workplace, employees either leave or start taking sick days, while work diminishes and allegiance to the company deteriorates, experts say.