Training & Development › Teamwork, Culture & Inclusion › Civility in the Workplace
TEAMWORK, CULTURE & INCLUSION
Civility in the Workplace
Small courtesies, fewer eye rolls, and a team people want to join
Why It Matters
Interrupting, ignoring emails, checking phones while someone talks, sarcastic replies in group chats. None of these break policy, but together they wear people down. Incivility lowers effort, increases turnover, and spills over into how customers and partners are treated. It is also contagious: one curt exchange tends to produce another. When employees understand the cumulative cost of small slights and share clear expectations for everyday behavior, workplaces become calmer and more productive without new rules.
Course Description
Picture a typical week on your team. Participants begin by listing the small moments that made work easier or harder, then sort them along a shared continuum from courteous to uncivil. That exercise grounds a discussion of how incivility spreads and what it costs in focus, collaboration, and retention. The group then looks at specific settings where civility slips: meetings, email and chat, shared kitchens and workspaces, and stressful deadlines. Short practice rounds help people respond when a colleague is curt, without escalating or letting it slide. The capstone activity is a draft team civility charter: a handful of concrete, agreed norms, such as how quickly to acknowledge messages or how to disagree in meetings. Teams decide when they will revisit the charter together.
Key Focus Areas
Participants explore and practice:
The incivility spectrum, from minor slights to persistent rudeness
How everyday discourtesy affects morale, effort, and retention
Courtesy in meetings, email, chat, and shared workspaces
Responding to a curt colleague without escalating
Drafting team norms for everyday respectful interaction
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
Identify uncivil behaviors that are common on their own team
Respond to a discourteous remark in a calm, direct way
Draft a short list of concrete civility norms with teammates
Model courteous habits in meetings and written communication
Who Should Attend
Whole teams and departments
Supervisors setting team expectations
Staff in busy shared offices
Hybrid teams communicating mostly by chat and email
Delivery and Customization
Examples, scenarios, and activities are adapted to your audience and goals. Delivery is available in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format, as a standalone session or as part of a series. Format and length are agreed during scoping.
Related Courses
Respect in the Workplace · Teamwork, Culture & Inclusion
Sensitivity Training · Teamwork, Culture & Inclusion
Business Etiquette · Career Readiness & Growth
Conflict Resolution · Communication & Interpersonal Skills
Bring Civility in the Workplace to your team
Tell us about your audience and goals. We will follow up to scope objectives, format, and timing.