Over two thirds (71%) of European workers say they swear in front of their boss, new survey results from the National Hug Your Boss Day organisation and TipTopJob.com show.
Within the UK, staff in London and the South of England were found to be the most profane, with 82 percent admitting to swearing around their manager. Those in the North were second (62%), followed by Scotland (61%) and Ireland (55%). Only 30 percent in the East swore, 42 percent in Wales and 54 percent in the West.
Corinne Hutchinson, marketing manager at TipTopJob, said:
“Swearing varies from workplace to workplace and can be an acceptable part of the language used between staff and managers in many offices, factories, sites and workshops. In some environments it can demonstrate a culture that is face-paced, stressful and busy and therefore acceptable but there are some settings where the use of bad language can be a sack-able or warning offence. For example, in the physical presence of customers/clients where swearing would most certainly be unacceptable.
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“With most of your waking hours spent at work with colleagues and managers, we feel that it is best to create a happy environment to encourage morale and motivation which in turn will increase productivity in the workplace.”
The survey asked employees across five continents if they use bad language around their boss, revealing that staff in Europe were the worst culprits, followed by America (52%), Australia (23%) and Africa (13%). Employees in Asia were the least likely to swear within earshot of senior staff (10%).
Hutchinson added:
“Unfortunately, some people can find the use of explicit language offensive and uncomfortable in any setting and it can make the workplace feel edgy and tense with employees demonstrating more negative characteristics like frustration, anger and stress. It is definitely worth finding out what the culture is like in the workplace before effing and blinding around new colleagues.”
National Hug Your Boss Day was created in 2008 by TipTopJob.com to promote healthy working relationships. The organisation encourages colleagues and managers to get involved on 4th September and share a picture of their hug.
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Steff joined the HRreview editorial team in November 2014. A former event coordinator and manager, Steff has spent several years working in online journalism. She is a graduate of Middlessex University with a BA in Television Production and will complete a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster in the summer of 2015.
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