Has rudeness at your workplace gotten worse over the last few years? We all experience rude people at work, the grocery store, a classroom and certainly in traffic! Many people think our rudeness has gotten out of hand. Workplace Culture Expert Cheri Perry says the rise in using social media has caused a fall in consideration. "That anonymity that you get through social media has absolutely seasoned the was we interact."
Perry says to make time for kindness yourself and watch using out loud those short, clipped comments you type online. Then if rudeness persists with a colleague - kindly bring it to their attention instead of letting it fester. They may not realize what they're doing!
According to Perry, our constant use of impersonal communication via texting and social media makes face-to-face interaction seem foreign. "We're constantly posting on Facebook 'I did this today --- I did this yesterday.' And then when we bump into someone at Starbucks we have a hard time starting a face-to-face conversation."
She also says rudeness is contagious. Someone is curt with you and it's easy to be short with the next person you encounter. Perry suggests you first watch your own kindness level and to try to respect other people's opinions - no matter how stupid you think they are!