A professor at the University of East Anglia in the UK conducted a research on the impact of profanity in the workplace. He found that swearing under certain circumstances helped build moral, foster solidarity amongst employees, expressed frustration, and relieved stress. I knew my potty-mouth was intended for the betterment of mankind. Read the findings here. If not, go f#@k yourself.
October 18, 2007...5:00 p
Swear at Your Colleagues, It’s All Good
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7 Comments
October 18, 2007 at 5:39 p
I guess there will be some fine print in relation to “It’s All Good” statement by researchers (e.g. under certain conditions).
I do not know what industry was considered in this research program. It is not uncommon that some swear words fly un-intentionally (not negatively targetted at someone and not abusive in nature) in heated discussions; but I would not agree that “it’s all good” and profanity is OK for team morale.
-Virk
October 18, 2007 at 5:47 p
Thanks Virk. My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek when I wrote that headline.
Cheers.
October 18, 2007 at 6:11 p
One time, my boss told me to stop coming in late and I spent the next ten minutes screaming a profanity-laden tirade at him. In turn, he started shouting at me in vernacular I can’t repeat. By the time we were through, we were both exhausted and having a laugh. By opening up to one another, we became better friends and soon swore at each other all the time. “Hey, #*&@!face” I would say as I passed him in the hall outside his office. “Hey, *^&$-licker” he would respond.
Long story short, I was promoted to VP and I’ve been recommending swearing at work ever since.
Try it! You’ll like it!
October 18, 2007 at 6:17 p
That’s hysterical!!! Thanks for sharing that story.
October 18, 2007 at 6:49 p
Thanks for sharing the post! I’ve always been hesitant to use profanity when around executives. I’ve always felt they were more business-oriented than me, and swearing isn’t business oriented.
However, when talking to a colleague, I’m back at my sailor-mouth, and it does express frustration or excitement more so than just “oh fooey”, or “hooray”, so workers understand you better, it seems.
October 18, 2007 at 6:57 p
[...] by Aaron Paxson on October 18th, 2007 Rajan Sodhi found a very interesting story, where a UK study showed it could be beneficial to swear at work, in lueue of special [...]
October 18, 2007 at 7:01 p
“Oh fooey” doesn’t quite have the same satisfaction, does it Aaron? Thanks for sharing.