Many people hoped the temperature would fall on divisiveness, angry rhetoric and uncivil debates over politics and social issues after November’s election, but that has not happened in the workplace. In fact, it is rising.
The Alexandria, Virginia-based Society for Human Resource Management, which conducts periodic surveys about workplace encounters with incivility, said such incidents have reached the highest level of the year, and incivility is expected to continue rising in 2025.
In its survey, employees said they had personally experienced or witnessed acts of incivility between coworkers an average of more-than-once per day and 56% cited political differences as the key driver.
Jim Link, chief human resources officer for the Society for Human Resource Management, said he believes there are several contributors. Among the top reasons: the 2024 election and the way social media has changed the way people communicate.
“People are feeling empowered and emboldened now to share things that they wouldn’t otherwise share. We refer to that as ‘technological bravery.’ People believe they have a high degree of anonymity when they are hiding behind their screens or their phones,” he said.
It is not just politics. Heated debates at the office are also often triggered by differences on social issues, racial or ethnic differences and the state of the direction of the country in general.
Among employees responding to the latest SHRM survey, 44% said the ability to be civil toward one another will get worse in 2025, citing political viewpoints as a driving factor — and 26% said they will likely leave their job in the new year because of it.
“We know, based on our analysis, that companies collectively lose $2.7 billion dollars a day to incivility, mostly due to reduced productivity and increased absenteeism,” Link said.
SHRM is warning the problem has reached a critical stage, for both worker retention and company productivity. Six in 10 workers surveyed said they believe it is important or very important for their company or organization to address civil discourse. SHRM has developed guidelines for human resource managers to develop such policies.
“We have a political conversations playbook. We have a five-step guide to civil conversations. And we have other tools and resources that are available for folks to download and take a look at to help determine how to best solve this incivility crisis in their own workplaces,” Link said.
SHRM said organizations have a responsibility to act now and address workplace incivility head-on. Employees can also help defuse divisiveness by not being baited in to such debates.
“It is hard not to respond if you disagree with someone, but going in with a frame of mind that you are listening to comprehend is a good start. It is also good to acknowledge another person’s perspective. You can say something as simple as ‘I acknowledge your point of view,’” Link said.
SHRM’s Civility Starter Kit for HR professionals is available online for free.
