Swearing at Work

I've worked in places where swearing was regular, even expected. I've worked in places where it was explicitly against the rules. Since I've been thinking about management, I've been wondering about the effects of swearing. What does it say about a workplace culture? Even if no one is offended by it, does it have a place?

Starting with this post by Bob Sutton, I followed a series of links on the topic of swearing in the workplace. This HBR article talks about leaders swearing. This study found "positive effects" of swearing. There are lots of articles that about how swearing "boosts morale." And of course, there are lots of opinion pieces, like this one, about "swearers" at work.

I don't know the "right" or "best" answer here. Maybe it's an "it depends" situation? I do want to point out that MBM calls on us to take a long-term view, which is something the articles I looked through weren't really explicitly considering. Many of the studies talked about "stress release" in the moment or fitting in with the workplace culture and such. What if using a swear word shocks people in the moment to be more productive, but sends out tiny cultural waves? What's the tradeoff?

Bob Sutton's article talks about how swearing levels might be different in closed team meetings versus public venues. The idea of split norms bugs me a bit. I've been in a closed meeting where a leader has said something a bit disparaging when referring to another that s/he would never say in public. This made me wonder what that leader was saying about me when I wasn't in the room. It also made me wonder if the public face of the leader was genuine; it literally devalued the praise of that leader in my eyes.

In short, I don't know what level of swearing is optimal in the long term. I do know words matter and contribute to culture, and the Guiding Principle of Respect calls on us to be sensitive and encourage team work. After haplessly typing on this subject for 30 minutes, I think would recommend being conservative in your language, especially as a leader. You never know who is listening and what messages you are sending.

Leave a comment about how you feel about swearing in the workplace. How does it contribute to culture? What are the long term consequences of swearing? Am I being stodgy?

Comments

[Tammy Carroll]

I think swearing in front of a group is disrepectful for the reasons you stated. There is no way to judge the entire group's sensitivity levels at a given point in time on a given topic so it's best to avoid all swearing in meetings.
However, I feel that if you are one-on-one with a co-worker or team member and the two of you have established a rapport where you know that person's acceptance level of cursing, then it's okay to use whatever language you choose to get your points across in a discussion, even about a work subject.

[Jonny B]

I was brought up to "play the game" which implies split norms for every situation. When it was just Dad & I, throwing papers on a Saturday morning, anything went. But there was an understanding that Mom was not to hear of this. I remember a very specific situation where I didn't adhere to this norm and said the contraction of "MF" within earshot of both of them. Oh the wrath of my father!
Healthy or not it taught me to be infinitely aware of the situation, the audience and making the message appropriate.
I would question, in the example you site, Dr. Z, of the 'leader', whether or not it was just an indication of their integrity and not necessarily a sample of split norms. That person was probably just showing their true colors.
When all else fails, cultivate the practice of "Grandma testing". You know what I mean; if your best friends grandma, or your grandma's grandma heard you saying it, would you get a bar of soap in your mouth?
Good post. Thanks for the insight.

[David McGinnis]

I wear jeans when I go to a mill; I wear dress pants when I'm in the Atlanta office. these are split norms. I think this makes sense.

However, Because of MY (David's) system of values: I aim to not swear ever. I can't say that I'm always successful at that goal, but it is my goal. My sense of right and wrong would mean that not swearing in public OR in private would be the most genuine me I could be.

Because I place foul language in the virtue category, a split standard would be a split virtue. I can't recommend split virtue.

It'd probably be good to not regret what you say, and I think you're pretty safe to not offend people if you don't swear.

So I can't tell you what 's right for you, but I sure know where I stand on the issue for me.