Regular swearing during working hours boosts team spirit among employees. This was concluded by researchers from the University of East Anglia, who explained how employees use swearing to better express their feelings and develop social relationships.
According to the France-Presse agency, management professor at the University of East Anglia Yeruda Baruch and his assistant Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and what it means for managers. In the study “Swearing and the Permissible Culture of Leadership: When Antisocial Becomes Social and Rudeness is Acceptable,” the researchers published that swearing is becoming increasingly common in the workplace as business taboos are broken, but they also warned that one must know when it is appropriate for the situation.
They advocate discouraging or even banning swearing in front of senior managers and clients, but claim that it is desirable in conversations with colleagues as it expresses frustrations, alleviates stress, and prevents heavy feelings.
“Employees swear regularly, but not always in a negative, derogatory way,” said Professor Baruch, who works at the university’s business school in Norwich, to AFP. If managers ban swearing and punish employees for it, they may show that they are strong leaders, but they could also eliminate the main connection between employees and negatively impact their morale and motivation.
