Workplace Rudeness Isn't Just Toxic. It's Contagious.

Article and photo from Alena Hall of the Huffington Post, Workplace Rudeness Isn't Just Toxic, It's Contagious.

If you're dealing with rude coworkers on a daily basis, chances are it's rubbing off on you and affecting your other social interactions -- not to mention your overall well-being. 

According to a recent study from the University of Florida, impolite behavior has the strong power to spread throughout the workplace, even to employees not involved in a given interaction. Plus, it can transcend the boundaries of the office space as workers carry that negative disposition home with them. 

"When you experience rudeness, it makes rudeness more noticeable," said the study's lead researcher, doctoral student Trevor Foulk, in a statement. "You'll see more rudeness even if it's not there." To test the contagion of rudeness in the office, Foulk and team conducted three experiments. In the first, they monitored 90 graduate students in negotiation scenarios with their classmates. They found that students whose first negotiation partner behaved rudely were more inclined to behave similarly with their subsequent partners in the exercise, perpetuating the cycle. That held true even when a week passed between different negotiation sessions. 

Read the full story here. 

---