Reprinted
with permission by
The Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey
Rude Awakening:
It's not your imagination.
It's a crude world out there.
Sunday, May 04, 2003
By Lisa Irizarry
Star-Ledger Staff
Whatever
your definition of rudeness -- loud cell phone calls, cursing, nervy
comments, someone not holding a door for you, "flaming"
(angry) e-mails, road rage or waiting for a salesperson to finish
a personal conversation before being helped -- you're probably experiencing
a lot more of it.
Psychologists, authors, customer service experts and others not
only have found uncivil behavior on the rise in the past few years,
it has become the subject of several studies, with some showing
bad behavior is so pervasive it's affecting mental health and the
workplace.
In
his 1999 book, "Bowling Alone," Harvard University Professor
Robert D. Putnam already was talking about incivility as an epidemic
-- caused in America by the declining sense of community to which
automobiles, suburban life and television have contributed.
Two years later, a study conducted by a psychologist at the University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor, found rudeness so pervasive in the American
workplace that it was having a serious impact not only on mental
health, but also on productivity. Out of 1,100 professional and
clerical workers surveyed, 71 percent said they had experienced
put-downs or other rude behavior on the job; in some cases, the
encounters led to anxiety and depression.
In December 2002, a survey conducted by the Boston Bar Association
of judges, clients, new lawyers and mental health professionals
found pervasive rudeness among the state's 44,456 attorneys. Their
offenses: Swearing at each other in open court, "making faces,
guttural noises or laughing" during proceedings; older attorneys
acting arrogant and dismissive with newer lawyers and also interrupting
judges.
If all that's not enough, we still suffering the fallout from 9/11
and the war with Iraq, as people have become even more stressed
out and fearful about an uncertain future.
Although concern for others and helpfulness increases during times
of crisis, it can be short-lived and it never applies to all people,
notes psychologist Joyce Brothers.
"We have a lot of negative emotions like anxiety, fear and
worry," Brothers says. "We have very few positive emotions
-- joy, happiness, positive feelings toward each other -- love.
When we're unhappy or anxious, the negative ones can come to the
forefront."
"With the economy and now the war
-- everything that distracts people from what they're supposed to
be doing contributes to this rudeness," explains Terry Wall,
a Gloucester Township-based expert on workplace trends. "The
closer you get to a deadline, the more that's piled up on your desk,
you just start reacting to things. When you're distracted with something
else, it (courtesy) goes out the window."
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