incivility

It’s not your imagination: rudeness appears to be on the rise. Witnessing rude behavior — whether it's coming from angry customers berating a store clerk or airline passengers getting into a fistfight — can have long-lasting effects on our minds. But behavioral scientist Christine Porath says there are ways to shield ourselves from the toxic effects of incivility. 

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Have you ever had a rude co-worker or boss — or have you ever been told that the “jerk” is you? Today’s guest, Christine Porath, researches incivility in the workplace. She’s found that if you want to have a thriving business full of happy and talented employees, there is no room for any kind of disrespect. In this episode, she shares insights from her research and suggests ways anyone—bosses, managers, and employees alike—can up the civility at work. Christine teaches at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and is the author of “Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace” and co-author of “The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It”. She has written for the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, McKinsey Quarterly and the Washington Post. Her new book, “Mastering Community” is forthcoming (Grand Central Publishing, 2022). To learn more about "How to Be a Better Human," host Chris Duffy, or find footnotes and additional resources, please visit: go.ted.com/betterhuman