You might assume that people who work for universities are more civil and polite than people working in the for-profit world. During my career of almost 40 years, I have spent about two thirds of that time working for universities and the rest in the for-profit world. Sadly, I think that people in the for-profit world tend to be more polite than people who work for universities. I must admit that I have no data to back up that assertion — it is simply based on my observation.
It makes me wonder why that could be, and I have been pondering the question rather a lot frequently because I have had to deal with a rather unusual level of rudeness at work recently.
Perhaps the first reason is passion. People don’t usually work for universities for the money. They can usually earn more elsewhere, but they choose the university setting because they are passionate in their zeal to change the world. This can cause disagreements to become personal and emotional rather quickly.
Second, universities tend to be a little too forgiving. There are rarely such severe consequences for bad behavior as in the for-profit world. It often amazes me how universities tolerate persistent bad behavior.
Third, many people in universities believe that the right to be rude is part of the right to free speech. If you question the way people talk to each other, that is often viewed as trespassing on their right to express themselves freely.
Finally, rudeness is expensive. It lowers productivity — and that lowers profits. When an institution is not quite as mindful of the bottom line, nobody cares as much about what rudeness costs.
Why are people rude at all? It can create havoc, it reduces productivity, and people become unhappy!
Fortunately, Johns Hopkins University is changing in this respect. We are moving towards a standardized performance management system; equity, civility, and respect are part of our core values; and with budgets getting tighter, there is going to be less tolerance for ugly behavior. As the song goes, things are getting better all the time!
