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Years ago I joined a fast growing hi-tech firm and my boss was taking me through the facility and introducing me to the staff. After we met one gentleman, as we were walking away, he said, “He’s a good worker but really has a potty mouth!” I thought that was an interesting comment. I soon discovered that the corporate culture of that company and other corporations I worked for looked down on staff that swore a lot. They seemed to overlook the once in a while rant that came with bad news, but sprinkling profanity in every day talk was frowned on. Some businesses such as Wall Street are a breeding ground for swearing. Due to the highly charged atmosphere of trading and quick ups and downs, there is a lot of vulgarity all of the time. People from the military are also in highly charges situations, I heard one military man with 10 years in the Army say, “Not only have I perfected the use of profanity, I can do in 17 languages!” A Recent study by CareerBuilder http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/08/02/watch-your-mouth-cursing-in-workplace-could-get-fired/ shows the following: * 81% of employers believe cursing brings an employee's professionalism into question * 71% of employers said that swearing shows a "lack of control" * 68% says swearing demonstrates a "lack of maturity" * 64% of employers think less of an employee who swears repeatedly * 57% said they are less likely to promote someone who using curse words CareerBuilder.com spokesperson Jennifer Grasz reported that 54% of employers said that swearing made their employees appear "less intelligent." On the other side of the coin it was suggested that…"People sometimes use profanity as a weapon. "It's a way of trying to show dominance, like gorillas beating their chests." The ancient Roman society felt that men were put into "active" and "passive" categories, and swearing was used for "active" men to use on "passive" ones. “Managers generally feel that employees who curse are unable to be calm and are not thoughtful,” Grasz says. “Employees with potty mouths are viewed as impulsive and are less likely to be promoted into a leadership role”, she adds. At the end of the day, Grasz says it all goes back to professionalism. “Before handing out promotions or special assignments, managers are looking for candidates with a professional demeanor and excessive cursing can reduce the appeal.” Bottom line, if you want to give the impression of being a professional, and be promotable, control your swearing impulse and rise above others that don’t control it! Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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Profanity, swearing, professionalism,
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