cultural factors

Rudeness pervades organisations, reports Andrew in this week's podcast on Trash Talking. More than half the employees (57%) in a Fortune 500 survey reported trash-talking happening every month in their organisation.

Trash talking used to mean slagging off competitors. Now there's a general trend of rudeness and less respectful attitudes towards others. Cultural factors partly explain this change. 

Becoming a victim of someone badmouthing and saying unpleasant things about you is a terrible experience. It may even occur in front of your boss. When it happens, you may lose sleep and dream about revenge. 

Trash-talking victims may become highly motivated to seek revenge but may become less cooperative. So, this kind of behaviour disrupts and reduces performance, especially when tasks need creativity and divergent thinking. 

Trash-talking is competitive incivility. It includes boastful comments about oneself or insulting someone else. If you want to succeed at work, avoid this sort of rudeness. 

Once you start trash talking, others may soon view you as a rival. You may even be unwittingly promoting the use of unethical behaviour. 

With a genuine opponent, trash-talk may prompt them to perform better. But if you make uncivil remarks to a teammate, you may cause them to perform worse.  The point is you never really know the impact such talking sets in motion.

Manipulative language comes in many guises.  It can sometimes appear harmless. Yet it can be dangerous and further perpetuate the oppression of women and the disadvantaged. It is just another form of racism.

Trash-talking now pervades social media. Nasty postings have an uncomfortably long-life span and may return to haunt you.

If trash-talking is frowned upon in your organisation, it's certainly not going to boost your chances of success. 

If you’re caught bad-mouthing someone, be sure to apologise at once.  Explain that you were venting frustration, and that’s not how you feel about them. Then give two examples of what you like about the person.

And tell a senior person or your team leader what happened before your co-worker does. If they file a complaint, you will have removed the possible source of shock. 

Just tell your senior colleague: “Look, I messed up and didn’t mean it. I have already apologised, but I wanted you to know if it comes up again.”      

If you’re a victim of trash-talking at work, you can’t quickly punish the other person. But you can take steps to tackle it.  If you stay silent, you may make the

Can't wait for Series 2 to run its course? Then buy Andrew's new book, published on Amazon, and there's also an Audio version.

Further reading and videos: Andrew recommends some useful follow through material which you can find for each episode at50Ways.site/reading; and 50Ways.site/watch.

BOOK:
The 50 Ways to Succeed at Work book is a standalone companion to Andrew Leigh's weekly podcasts.
It's an essential resource for all job starters and those at work for a few years.
Dip in and out and take what seems helpful.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRM569KY

In this episode, we explore the biases and communication styles that contribute to the perception of how often males and females talk about gender dynamics. Personal biases such as selective attention and confirmation bias play a role in how we perceive the frequency of these discussions. Differences in communication styles also influence how men and women engage in conversations about gender issues. The key to fostering better communication and understanding between genders is to recognize and acknowledge these factors and approach discussions with an open mind and willingness to listen and learn from others.

References

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Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2013). The nature-nurture debates: 25 years of challenges in understanding the psychology of gender. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(3), 340-357.

Eagly, A. H., Wood, W., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C. (2004). Social role theory of sex differences and similarities: Implications for the partner preferences of women and men. In T. Shackelford & R. Hansen (Eds.), The Evolution of Sexuality (pp. 219-256). Springer.

Fine, C. (2010). Delusions of gender: How our minds, society, and neurosexism create difference. WW Norton & Company.

Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878-902.

Galinsky, A. D., & Moskowitz, G. B. (2000). Perspective-taking: Decreasing stereotype expression, stereotype accessibility, and in-group favoritism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 708-724.

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56(2), 109-118.

Glick, P., Lamber, C., & Fiske, S. T. (2004). Perceived frequency of gender discrimination: Influence of demographic variables, threat to masculinity, and gender role ideology. Sex Roles, 50(11-12), 443-452.

Glick, P., Wilkerson, M., & Cuffe, M. (2015). Masculine identity and prejudice: Homophily and the avoidance of femininity and weakness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(10), 1303-1316.

Heilman, M. E., & Parks-Stamm, E. J. (2007). Gender stereotypes in the workplace: Obstacles to women's career progress. Advances in Group Processes, 24, 47-77.

Jost, J.T. (2019). A quarter century of system justification theory: Questions, answers, criticisms, and societal applications. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(1), 263-314.

Rudman, L. A., & Glick, P. (2001). Prescriptive gender stereotypes and backlash toward agentic women. Journal of Social Issues, 57(4), 743-762.

Rudman, L. A., & Goodwin, S. A. (2004). Gender differences in automatic in-group bias: Why do women like women more than men like men?. Journal of personality and social psychology, 87(4), 494-509.

Swim, J. K., Hyers, L. L., Cohen, L. L., & Ferguson, M. J. (2001). Everyday sexism: Evidence for its incidence, nature, and psychological impact from three daily diary studies. Journal of Social Issues, 57(1), 31-53.

Van Laar, C., Levin, S., Sinclair, S., & Sidanius, J. (2005). The effect of university roommate contact on ethnic attitudes and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41(4), 329-345.

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