At work, no more Mr. Nice Guy

Stressed on the job? Add rude co-workers to the list of headaches.

Workplace incivility' is on the rise, researchers said Sunday at the American Psychological Association annual meeting.

The academics define workplace incivility as 'a form of organizational deviance… characterized by low-intensity behaviors that violate respectful workplace norms, appearing vague as to intent to harm.'

Translation: rudeness, insults and plain old bad manners.

Research suggests '75% to 80% of people have experienced incivility. It's a growing and prevalent problem,' says Jeannie Trudel of Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion...." To read more, click here.

The workplace and the Internet are two places where our faith is constantly tested by the behaviour and words of others. While the increase of incivility in the workplace may be related to today's economy and the demands it makes upon those who do have jobs, there are also may be a corrolation with the increased incivility observed on the Internet, which appears more related to the medium itself. Internet incivility may be carrying over to face-to-face interactions in the workplace. Both in the workplace and on the Internet Christians must remember that they represent Christ. We live in a goldfish bowl. Non-Christians judge us and the reality of our faith in our lives by what we do and say.